The Search
by Falling Rose Petals
Summary: The Flock has finally defeated Itex, the annoying Voice in Max's head has quieted down, and they think they've found the perfect place to start their new lives, but what happens when Erasers show up,taking Fang and brainwashing him...to kill Max?FAXFLUFF
1. Chapter 1

"Soooo…we're going _where_, exactly?" Total asked for the twentieth time. I looked down and gave him the stink eye as I ignored him.

"Quiet before you do your own version of flying," I growled, rubbing my temples. That shut him up. The whole flock wondered where we would go now that Itex was out of the picture. I had to find us a safe place for us to start over, to be at peace at last. Easy, right?

NO.

Hi. My name's Max. If you're just tuning into the story, I suggest you go out and buy yourself the first couple of books because I'm not going to explain _everything _we've been through. I will go over the basics.

I'm Max, leader of my flock of mutant birdkids. Fang is my best friend, he's my age, 14, and considered second in command. Then there's Iggy; he's 14 too, and blind. But somehow he's able to do really incredible things; like cook, make explosives, the usual. Nudge is 11, chatterbox is putting it mildly. Then there's the Gasman (his name's self explanatory), who's 8, and his younger sister, my baby, Angel, who's only 6.

Oh, did I mention we all have wings? Yeah, note said birdkids. That'd be us. Except for Total, who was a talking dog currently zipped up in my jacket.

Fang drifted closer to me, studying my face. I looked at him and sighed, shrugging.

He knew I still had some weight left on my shoulders, even though most of it had been lifted. Like the flock's new home, for example, had become a much unexpected weight.

"Don't worry," he said quietly to me, his wing bumping mine gently. "I'm sure you won't make us live in a _total_ dump." I scowled at him and he formed a very small, quick smile before catching an air current and drifting away a little. His big black wings gliding effortlessly though the sky. I stuck my tongue out at him even though he couldn't see and then shot ahead of the rest of the flock.

We'd been circling all over the United States, trying to find a good place to settle down. But with six different kids in the group, there were many arguments and nobody seemed to agree on one spot. It was extremely irritating.

I looked down through the clouds and gasped, stopping in my tracks—uh, flight.

"Don't tip over so far!" barked Total as I leaned to look down, scurrying deeper into my jacket, muttering something, again, about not having wings.

Fang noticed me stop and had motioned to the rest of the flock. I saw Gazzy tap Iggy's hand twice as they all veered towards me.

"Bombs away!" I said once they were all there, and with that I shot straight down going as fast as I could.

"Max! Be careful with Total!" Angel cried from above me. She was clutching Celeste, her stuffed bear that was dressed as an angel. I put a protective hand around Total, who was yelling at the top of his lungs, and rolled my eyes.

"Suck it up. _You're _the one who wanted to ride with me," I reminded him.

"I didn't realize at the time that you were _suicidal_!" he cried angrily as we spiraled towards the ground. I laughed and pulled up about a foot from the ground to Total's disapproval.

I quickly and smoothly dropped to my feet and Total immediately leapt out of my jacket.

"Hooligan!" he hollered at me. The rest of the flock made less-risky landings and Total immediately ran to Angel and looked at Iggy and Fang meaningfully. Fang was suppressing laughter and Iggy was just cracking up. "From now on, I'm riding with one of you two," Total told them.

"'Kay," Iggy said nonchalantly. He stood very still, very quiet, trying to take in his surroundings.

"Max, where are we? What made you stop? Wow, this place is pretty though. I read on the computer that this one little cottage was set deep in the woods with a waterfall next to it. Do you think we could try to find that after this, Max?" Nudge kept going and going and going. I smiled at her.

"Let's just see what happens here first, ok?" Nudge nodded and she and Angel went off to sit under a big tree a few feet away. I smiled at them and then walked out a little just as a gust of wind caught my blond hair. I closed my eyes and let my wings loose. I felt someone next to me and opened my eyes to see Fang standing there. I smiled at him.

"What made you stop here?" he asked, looking around.

"It looked pretty from way up there. I figured it had to be better on the ground," I told him, closing my eyes again. This was so peaceful. Gazzy came up behind me and pulled on my sleeve quickly.

"Max, Angel found something in the woods." He told me.

"We should check it out," Iggy said, coming up behind him. He was holding something small…a time bomb.

"Where do you _keep_ those?" I asked. Iggy just smiled and followed Gazzy's footsteps. I looked at Fang and motioned with my head. "Move it or lose it," I told him with a quick grin. He followed me and we went with the rest of the flock into the woods. Nudge came up excitedly and squeezed my hand. I smiled down at her and continued following Iggy.

"Max, Max!" Angel called excitedly. Total was bouncing along next to her, giving me a dirty look. I smiled at both of them and I saw Total soften up a little. I bent down and Angel ran to me to give me a huge hug.

"What'd you find, sweetie?" I asked her. She released me and grabbed my other hand. Her and Nudge were pulling me forward now. I couldn't help taking in breath as we approached it.

There, hidden in the trees, was a cabin. And it wasn't like, teeny. It was on the medium size, plenty of room for, oh, say, 6 kids whose wings were around 14ft long? I walked towards it, feeling like I was walking into a dream.

"Isn't it perfect?" Angel said happily, obviously proud of herself. Her small hand squeezed happily into mine.

"You did so good, Angel," Fang told her, since I was still looking at the cabin. It really _was_ perfect. _Too _perfect, my instincts told me. I gave Angel's hand a little squeeze before letting it go. We were a few yards away from the cabin, and smartly, none of the flock had gone investigating. We'd been trained to be cautious about everything, and even though the cabin looked deserted, it could be a trap. That was my job—to make sure it wasn't a trap.

"Stay here," I said quietly as I inched forward by myself. I felt something brush against my hand and smiled when I saw Fang would be coming with me. He nodded and followed me in cautiously. "I'll check out the back," I whispered, making my way slowly through the dining room that had a love seat and a regular-sized couch. Excluded _and_ furnished? Again, warning bells went off in my head, but there didn't seem to be anything here.

Fang had done his sweep and met up with me in the kitchen, where there was no food source and a broken refrigerator. There was dust on everything; the windows, the furniture, the sink—even the _dust _had dust. I wrinkled my nose and sneezed.

"Well," Fang said slowly, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Home sweet home. Good job, Max."

**Ok, well this is obviously my first shot at a Maximum Ride fanfic. Flames welcome, as always, I hope you all liked it! Review review review!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	2. Chapter 2

It was about midnight, everyone else was asleep. I was sitting on the roof of the cabin we'd taken over today. Everyone had been thrilled; totally stress free—that is, everyone but me, as usual.

I sighed and shivered as a gust of wind tickled my neck. There were only four rooms, but it was fine. Nudge and Angel were already used to sharing a room and Iggy and Gazzy didn't care about sharing one. Fang and I had our own, which was good. At least for now we would be safe.

_Unless the people who actually own this cabin show up_, I thought, dropping my face in my hands. I lay back and watched the moon rise up higher and higher. I began connecting the dots in the sky because I was so totally _bored_. I almost hoped the people who owned the cabin would show up and just **try** to kick us out. I wanted a fight.

Just then Fang swooped up and landed next to me, checking to make sure I was still awake.

"Yup, still breathing," I said, not looking at him He chuckled.

"Want me to take over the watch?" he asked quietly. I shook my head.

"Nah, I'm not tired enough to sleep. Anyway, I feel better being awake. Just to make sure nothing goes wrong." Fang said nothing, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as he settled himself next to me, lying back like I was. We were quiet for a long time, and finally the sun was beginning to show. I thought about Itex, about all the crap they'd put my Flock through. I felt angry as I thought about how many times one of my Flock had gotten hurt, and I couldn't hide my fuming from Fang.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, looking over at me. His arms were crossed behind his head and he was using them as a pillow. The one too-long piece of black hair was covering half of his right eye, and without thinking I just kind of, moved it. I blushed embarrassingly and then sat up.

"Nothing," I told him, though I was still angry. He wasn't fooled and he sat up too.

"You can tell me, you know," he said, looking into my eyes. I knew.

"I was just…" I began, unused to the feeling of "expressing myself"—_yuck_. Fang slid closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist very, very slowly. My heart sped up and I immediately blushed again.

_DO NOT overreact, Max! _I told myself furiously, thinking of how many times I'd ditched his attempts to be close to me. He didn't deserve that, and I'd been a total, complete moron and a jerk to him.

"You were just?" He encouraged. He shifted his weight so that I was now leaning against his chest—and le'me tell you, I was _not _complaining. I sighed in surrender and told him.

"I was just thinking about Itex, and how much it put you guys through," I told him, irritation dripping from my tone. "They hurt you, Angel, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, even _Total_—Total's a freaking _dog_ who couldn't have hurt a fly if he tried"—I was happy Total was asleep and couldn't hear my blasphemous (but true) words—"And they hurt you," I went on quietly, rage hot in my blood. Fang chuckled.

"You already said that," he told me quietly, and I blushed. His hand moved hair away from my neck. "But you forgot to mention something," he said. I turned a little in his embrace and gave him a, _What are you talking about?_ face. He smiled a very small, almost sad smile. "What about how many times they hurt _you_?" I blinked, confused. Why did that matter? The Flock mattered. He read my expression and seemed to get a little mad. "You matter." He said, his voice strong. "You mean everything," he said.

I almost slid out of his arms. Literally, I think I was this close to melting. The only thing that stopped me was his rough lips as they touched mine very softly. I was startled, but I couldn't have wanted this more. I would've self combusted.

We sat there on the roof for a while. It was peaceful, quiet, and Fang snuck kisses on my lips every now and then. That's when I heard Nudge inside the cabin.

"I'm hungry, where's Max?" I sighed and began to move.

"Gotta go be leaderly," I told Fang, though (and I would never admit it to him) I never wanted to leave his embrace. I stood and he grabbed my hand, standing up too.

"I'm glad you didn't leave this time," he told me, and irritatingly, I blushed again. He did too, so I figured it was ok.

"Me too," I said, not looking at him. I leapt from the roof and landed soundlessly on my feet, sashaying into the cabin. Angel giggled, looking at me, and I immediately stopped, remembering she could read thoughts. Had she heard that whole conversation with Fang in my mind? Was she going to expose me for the soft, mushy, _girl_ that I was.

"What?" I asked defensively as Fang walked by me and took a seat next to Iggy.

"You like, danced in here, Max." Angel clarified, still smiling. I couldn't hold in the relieved sigh that came out of me when she said that.

"Ok, food hunt. Iggy, Gazzy, check north of here." They nodded and left the cabin arguing about some kind of flammable liquid. "Fang, you take Nudge; cover East and South." They nodded and took off a little outside the cabin. Me, Angel, and Total would take the rest.

Luckily the cabin really _was_ perfect. Iggy and Gazzy came back with a whole bunch of grapes from a vineyard they'd found a little ways up. Fang and Nudge came back with vegetables, and Nudge excitedly declared that there was a huge shopping mall a few miles back. Angel, Total, and I found a fresh water spring running miles down the sloping hills. It was deep, maybe 20 ft, and at least 15 ft wide. Perfect. It was really close, too.

"So are we really gonna stay here, Max?" Nudge asked, her chocolatey eyes bugging out of her head in a cute pout. I looked at the rest of my Flock and saw similar expressions on all of their faces—well, except for Fang. Even Total was giving me his 'begging doggy eyes' and had his bottom lip popped out a little. I thought about it for a minute—this could all very well be a trap.

_But what if it wasn't? _I asked myself. It was definitely worth it to find out, I decided. We could handle ourselves—we'd been doing it for quite a while.

"Alright," I said. "We'll stay." The excited cheers that met my words were worth it. I was attacked by Angel and Nudge and Gazzy as they hugged me. Even Iggy tackled me to the ground. Then Angel got an evil grin. "What?" I asked suspiciously.

Angel stood up and looked at the rest of the Flock. "To the stream!" she shouted. And everyone, even Fang, helped carry a screaming me to the stream we'd found earlier. They all dived in and I was soaked instantly. Then we were laughing and splashing around, just having the time of our lives. For the first time, I genuinely believed that maybe, just maybe, life was finally cutting us a break.

Who knew that very, very soon, I'd be proven so, so wrong?

**Yay! Chapter 2! I'm glad some of you liked the first chapter, I'd appreciate more reviews, they make my day! ) I hope you all like my story! Keep reading! Chapter 3 out soon! Thanks!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	3. Chapter 3

Ethan watched as the six mutants and their dog settled into a rundown cabin. His hands were sweaty because he was gripping the binoculars too hard. He watched as they landed, food in hand, totally at ease. That was going to end—soon.

Max had totally destroyed Itex, a project so special to him. She would pay. He figured while he killed Max he could take the rest of the mutants and sell them—or at least parts of them—to be studied. He grinned, his eyebrows forming a 'V' over his dark eyes.

"Sir, everyone is where you told them to be," said the Eraser to his right. Yes, everyone had been led on to believe they'd all been destroyed, but he was not such an idiot. Ethan had believed Erasers would come in handy again someday, and he'd been right.

"Good," he told the Eraser. "Have the troops set and ready for my command." Ethan surveyed his surrounding, and realized they would not do. Much too peaceful for a showdown. He'd have to figure out a way to get Max away from here, the rest of them too, making it easier for their captures.

The Eraser looked around, unsure of what to do, and Ethan sighed in annoyance.

"Go," Ethan said, and the Eraser immediately backed away and went back to the rest of them. Ethan had made sure to keep around a few hundred. That should be enough.

Ethan had come up with the idea of a plan the night before. He'd seen Max and the mutant who always wore black on the roof; could sense their connection. Ethan grinned again—he would definitely be using that against them._ When you're going to get back at someone, why not do it in the most hurtful way possible? _Ethan thought to himself. As he'd watched them grow closer, his plan grew more pronounced.

Yes, Max was going to pay for destroying Itex. She would pay with her life.

"You," Ethan said, pointing to a different Eraser, who was much closer. The Eraser snapped to life, coming up to him. "Keep watch for a while. I've some notes to make." Without hesitation the Eraser took the binoculars and also Ethan's perch.

Making his way back to the tent, Ethan began making mental calculations, maps. Everything was perfect. He entered the small, green tent they'd set up and sat down at the tiny fold-out desk inside. Scanning a map, he found a place where it would all happen—where everything would go perfectly.

A while away from here, in California, there was a place in the woods where anyone could be taken hostage and no one would ever find them. The School. Ethan got excited goose bumps, knowing of the past the mutants had there and how it would play a key role in his plan. He knew this was the way to get Max and take her down.

A smile growing with every step, Ethan continued staring at the map and saw a canyon not too far from The School. He knew it well—from when he'd worked at The School himself. The canyon was littered in rocks and old car wrecks. The only flat surface, as he knew, was difficult to walk on because of the rubble. Perfect.

The Eraser who'd been set to watch the mutants ran into the tent, huffing. "Sir," said the Eraser, "They've gone to sleep. The two from the night before are back on the roof."

Ethan looked up, an evil grin on his face.

"Good," he said nastily, revenge radiating from his cold eyes. "There is a new plan, and it will take place tomorrow night."

**Dun dun dun…lol This wasn't too long because it was just to give a rough idea of the bad guys. Ethan I made up, so yeah lol I don't think I mentioned it in my other **

**chapters but James Patterson owns the characters I didn't make up. Reviews please! Next chapter's gonna be good! :) Thanks!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up to something laying on me. I groaned, trying to push it off, only to hear a small "Hey!" come from the object. Startled, I sat up and was face to face with Angel, who was now rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Celeste was clenched tightly in her hand.

"Angel?" I asked, groggy. It'd been a long night. Fang and I had talked about a lot. I smiled and blushed at even thinking about it. Then I remembered who I was in the room with and I quickly focused on something—anything else. "What are you doing in here, sweetie?" I yawned and lay down again. Angel snuggled against me.

"I had a bad dream," Angel said, her voice shaky. I held her close, closing my eyes.

"It's ok. I'm here," I told her. I had no idea what time it was; I just knew it was too early for my brain to be functioning and having thoughts.

"I know," Angel said very tiredly. Geesh, the dream must've really wiped her out. I hummed a random tune that I thought was soothing and brushed back her hair as she drifted to sleep. As soon as I heard her breathing get heavier I sighed and got up. I couldn't go back to sleep now. With a tired yawn I reluctantly got up. I nearly squashed Total, who was curled up at the edge of the bed. With a startled 'eep!' I narrowly missed him and instead fell to the floor. Well, slumber party in Max's room huh? I just hoped next time somebody would inform MAX! I silently got up and walked across the room, chuckling at the sight. It was cute, though, I had to admit. Angel slept soundly in my bed and I gently closed the door behind me.

So far I was the only one up. It was eight in the morning, and I figured I might as well get breakfast going.

With a small excited leap I glided away from the cabin in seconds, closing my eyes and feeling the thrilling rush of the wind as it whipped past me. I was in total and utter bliss, as I always was when I flew.

"Mind if I join you?"

I cried out and instinctively swerved away from the voice, almost hitting a tree. Fang's hand reached out and grabbed mine and pulled me away from the hurtful branches. I glared at him.

"A little warning would've been nice!" I shouted over the wind. Fang grinned.

"You're just mad because you're flawless hearing can never pick up on me," he said jarringly. I glowered and swooped forward more. I knew he was right, but no way was a going to tell him that. "You know I'm right," he said bluntly. I turned red.

"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" I asked, annoyed. Fang unexpectedly glided towards me and shifted himself under me so that he was flying with his back to the ground while he looked up at me. "What're you doing you weird creep!" I shouted, afraid he'd fall or something. He smiled. Without answering he drifted up more and kissed me. I couldn't breathe. It wasn't till it looked like the ground was about to smush Fang that I realized we were losing altitude. I grabbed him by his black shirt and pulled us both back up to the clouds.

"Close call," Fang said shrugging. I rolled my eyes at him and continued flying. "So, what's for breakfast, Chief?" I sighed.

"I don't know. Iggy and Gazzy found that vineyard. How about fresh grapes? Plus Nudge said something about a shopping mall not too far. I'm sure we'll manage," I said, stroking the small plastic card that I held tightly. It was a credit card we'd found a while back, and we were able to take out the usual two-hundred dollars. It would hold us for now.

Fang and I landed a little ways in the vineyard, staying low and picking as many grapes as possible. Since I hadn't exactly planned ahead, I took off my sweatshirt and we used that as a sort of knapsack. We loaded it with grapes and then pushed off the ground and were soaring towards the mall. I gave Fang my sweatshirt and told him to wait up in a large tree for me while I went in and stocked up on the food.

"What? No way!" As usual, nobody listens to me. He stubbornly crossed his arms and glared at me.

"And what do you propose we do with the grapes, Oh Wise One?" I asked, throwing my hands up. He smirked at me and gave me one of his famous _Why am I so brilliant? _looks. I rolled my eyes and watched as he stealthily flew up into the tree and secured the sweatshirt onto a branch way up at the top. He hopped down all 'hot-stuff' and raised an eyebrow at me.

"You were saying?" he asked.

"Shut up," I mumbled, and he laughed.

We walked into the mall with attitudes that said, 'Birdkids? Where?!" and found a small store that sold juices and other things. I bought at least forty juices and so much Chex-Mix that I was pretty sure I'd never want to look at it again. Fang held my hand as we walked around, and I had to really concentrate in order to contain my joy and play it cool. Fang wasn't fooled though, as always, and every now and then he'd kiss my cheek, laughing as my face lit up. I'd growl at him and he'd enjoy every second of it.

As we walked around the mall sometimes we'd pass a mini-herd of gaggling girls. As we were about to leave, though, one of them made a mistake. She was a little shorter than me, had big poofy brown curly hair and blue eyes. She was giggling and her friends all whispered as she approached Fang, who was a few feet away from me admiring a new laptop that had just come out. I was sitting on a bench, watching the crime.

"Hey," said the girl to Fang, who looked up, startled. "I'm Joy."

_Joy_, I scoffed in my head, huffing. What kind of a name was _Joy_? Joy was an emotion, not a freaking _name_.

Of course, before this moment I'd kind of been fond of the name Joy. I was horrified at myself and watched Fang intently.

"Hello," Fang said, not giving his name. He looked for me but the herd had moved in front of me. I could see his dark eyes and the top of _Joy's _head. He began to move away. I needed to help, so with a totally _not _jealous sigh, I broke in right through the girl's herd.

"And you are?" Joy asked, her eyes looking up at Fang through her eyelashes. She hadn't noticed me yet. Poor thing; and that was it.

"Not available," I answered for Fang, who looked relieved. I kissed him quickly on the mouth and took his hand. "Sorry," I said, though I wasn't sorry at all. I quickly pulled Fang away and was delighted at the surprised look that came onto _Joy's _face. We were far enough away from the danger but I continued to pull Fang away quickly.

"Could you believe the _nerve _of that girl?" I babbled, hardly paying attention to what I was saying. "I mean, I was sitting right there on the freaking _bench._" Fang was laughing and I turned to him. "What?" I demanded.

"Nothing. You're jealous," he snickered. I gave an appalled cry and let go of his hand. We were outside the mall and I was carrying the three bags of food we'd bought.

"_Jealous!"_ I couldn't believe the word. "I saved your life," I said, flying up to the tree in an attempt to carry the sweatshirt of grapes too. Fang came up beside me and gently took some of the load.

"Jealous." He repeated, wagging his eyebrows at me, a small grin on his face. I screeched and flew high above him, and I could still hear him laughing. Ok, so maybe he was right. But jealous was _such _an icky word. I prefer the word protective. I nodded, smiling. Yes, I was just protective. I told Fang of my new revelation and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, okay." He said sarcastically. Well, _he _might not have been satisfied, but I sure was. We flew back to the cabin and everyone was up. They cheered when they saw the food and immediately started pigging out. Not that it mattered.

&

The rest of the day went by in a flash. Gazzy and Nudge went swimming in the creek, and Angel, being the little angel she was, decided it'd be fun to talk to the fish and get them all to jump out of the water one by one and smack Gazzy in the face with their tails. I had to admit—it was pretty hilarious.

As the sun started to set, I put everyone to bed, getting ready to take watch. Fang met me on the roof, as we'd done for the past couple nights. I settled myself against him and we stayed like that for a while.

"It's cute that you were jealous this morning," Fang said suddenly, tightening his hold around my waist because he knew what my reaction would be—I tried to get up.

"I was _not_—." I began, but Fangs lips attacked mine and unfairly cut me off. He stole my breath; but of course, in an amazingly wonderful way. Finally, he let me breathe. "—jealous," I finished shakily. He gave me a look that said _Come __**on **_and I sighed. "Okay," I said, holding up my thumb and pointer finger together to create a small space between them. "Maybe a _teensy_ bit." Fang lifted an eyebrow. "Okay, a little more than that. Like, a little." He tilted his chin and stared at me. I threw up my hands. "Okay a LOT! Are you happy now, you manipulative jerk!" Fang smiled bigger than I've ever seen him smile before.

"Yes," he said simply. Then he kissed me so hard I thought my heart was going to explode. I loved every minute of it and I never wanted to let Fang go. We broke apart, breathing heavily, and I happily sank into his arms. "I love you, Max," Fang said quietly. He whispered it, and his voice was so sincere that I couldn't help but believe him. I looked up into his dark eyes and his gaze pierced mine.

"I love you too, Fang," I told him. I blushed hopelessly and he laughed as an embarrassed and annoyed expression came up over my face. I smiled at him and he kissed me again. That's when everything went to H-E-double hockey sticks and back.

Everything had been going great until _he _showed up.

I stiffened under Fang's kiss, and at first he thought it was something he'd done. He pulled away, hurt, but I shook my head.

"Listen," I said quietly. It was dead silent—but I knew something was coming. Fang sat up straight then and was on high alert. Just then there was a swarm of—yup, you guessed it—Erasers! They were coming from virtually every direction. I was on my feet in a second, Fang was surveying the threat. "We have to get the kids!" I shouted, enraged. What the heck! We couldn't have more than three freaking days to ourselves! Fang nodded and we both jumped from the roof quickly and hurried into the cabin.

"ERASERS!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. The house was up in seconds, including Total who was growling. The Flock all lined up in the living room.

"How much time?" Iggy asked.

"A minute, maybe two," Fang answered, his eyes cold.

"But I thought the Erasers were all 'expired'," Gasman said, rubbing his eyes. I nodded.

"We all did, Gaz," I said wearily. We needed to get out of here—and fast.

In sync we ran to the door and I threw it open, herding the Flock out. We were surrounded already, hundreds of disgusting, drooling Erasers. Their eyes were bright with excitement and I went up front, trying to cover as much of the Flock as possible.

"Hey, didn't you guys hear? Your edition was cancelled. There's new and improved Erasers. Sorry, guess you're out of the job," I said. I narrowed my eyes at every single one of them, just daring them to try anything. Just then they all looked behind themselves and parted like the Red Sea. A tall man with dark black hair and very dark eyes—darker than Fang's—stepped up. He looked threatening, and I actually felt my heart stutter.

I folded my arms and yawned, pretending to be bored. "So, you must be the new head-honcho." I said nonchalantly. "I hope the ex's told you about us. We're too smart for you."

The man laughed darkly and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I got goose bumps on my arms and I immediately glared at him. "Hello, Maximum," he said. His voice lacked any trace of life—of a heart.

"Max, if you don't mind," I said, false politeness dripping from my tone.

"Max, then," said the man. His features darkened more, if that were possible. "My name is Ethan. I was a founder of Itex. I assume you've heard of it?" He grinned darkly, his eyes narrowing. I continued playing it cool. I scrunched up my eyebrows and raised a hand to my chin to make it seem that I was deep in thought.

"Hm. Itex. Doesn't ring a bell." Ethan remained the way he was, not even flinching. I remembered how easy (and fun!) it had been to get under ter Borcht's skin. "Oh, oh wait," I said, snapping my fingers. "Owned everything? Located in areas scattered over the entire world? Pent on destroying mankind as we know it? Now non-existent?" I nodded. "You know, I think I _may_ have heard something about it. But enlighten me, please." _Okay, Max_ I thought to myself shakily. _Get the Flock out of here and keep Ethan distracted enough to not notice. Piece of cake. A simple walk in the park. Right? Wrong._

_Max, I'm scared._ Angel's tiny voice budded in on my thoughts and I quickly looked over my shoulder at her.

_Don't worry, sweetie. You'll be fine._ I thought back to her anxiously.

_Okay, Max_, she thought, sounding relieved. I had to get them out of here.

"Enlighten you," Ethan repeated, chuckling darkly under his breath. His hate-gaze focused on me. "You, my dear, will regret what you've done here. You will pay." I saw Fang stiffen to my right and I brushed his hand lightly with mine, which told him not to do anything. "Itex, the most powerful company this world has ever seen, would've made this world a better place. We had big plans—bigger than you could ever imagine." I sighed.

"Well, thanks for the ego-boost," I said, looking disappointed. Ethan smiled forebodingly and continued, ignoring my quip.

"All of these plans would have been realized if you hadn't meddled in things that were none of your business." The Erasers that were surrounding Ethan began to move around threateningly, looking anxious.

"Um, excuse me, but I live on this planet too," I pointed out, raising my hand. "I think that gives me a say in what happens to it." Ethan looked angry, and I have to admit, it was quite possibly one of the most terrifying things I'd ever seen.

"Maximum Ride," he said, his voice low and full of rage. I took an involuntary step back and felt Fang's hand resting against the small of my back. Ethan pointed at me, "You will pay for what you've done here," he repeated. His fingers twitched ever-so-slightly and suddenly the Erasers were upon us.

I shouted a quick battle plan and we were back into our old lives—fighting for them. An Eraser got a hold of my shoulder and its claws dug into my skin. I screeched and landed a solid drop-kick to its face. With a howl the Eraser stumbled backwards, a few teeth going flying. With a quick elbow to the head, the Eraser was out for the count.

Another came at me, and as I fended him off I did a quick check on the rest of the Flock, who seemed to be taking care of themselves. I got quite a few more bruises and bad cuts. Blood stained my one good sweatshirt, which help my rage breed and surge on to become a whole new fighting style.

Suddenly, as I kneed an Eraser square in the chest, I saw out of the corner of my eye as Gazzy and Iggy nodded at each other. I knew what that meant, so I shouted it before they could. "Duck!" The entire Flock dropped to their stomachs just as a deafening BOOM erupted, throwing Erasers far off into the distance. Suddenly, they were retreating, Ethan too.

Ha! The Infamous Flock! We'd won again. I looked around at the rubble. "Report!" I shouted.

"Here!" Total said, coming up, sniffling and he sneezed.

"Here," Angel said, crawling out from under a piece of wood. So much for home-sweet-home.

One by one I heard a 'Here!' from everyone—almost everyone.

As the Gasman and Iggy gushed over their latest explosion, I realized one vital member of my Flock was missing.

"Where's Fang?" I asked, trying to hide the panic rising in my voice. Everyone stopped talking, looking around. When he didn't come out in the next five minutes I didn't care about hiding it anymore.

"Fang!" I shouted, trying to keep myself from falling into hysterics—it was becoming difficult. That's when Angel looked at me sadly.

"Ethan wants you to know that he has Fang," Angel said, looking at me. My eyes narrowed.

"What?" I said between clenched teeth, totally pissed. My hands balled into tight fists.

"Ethan is thinking to me. He said to tell you, 'Don't worry about him, little Maximum. He'll be here. Where all your nightmares began.'" Angel looked ominous and Iggy swallowed hard.

"They've got Fang?" Nudge asked slowly, as though just catching on.

"Yeah, but, where?" Gazzy asked.

I looked at all of them, my family, my Flock, one by one.

"They took him to the beginning," I said slowly, looking down. "They took him back there," I said, horror clear in my voice and I was sure on my face as well. I looked up and back at them fiercely. "They took him to the School."

**Reviews please! I hope you guys liked this chapter! I told you it would be intense!**

**Chapter 5 should be out sometime this week. Review, review, review! Thanks for reading!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	5. Chapter 5

Fang woke up slowly, his eyes trying to adjust. He was aware of a very annoying and painful throbbing at the back of his head. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the back of his head—and actually, he wouldn't put it past them.

Trying to get up, he realized that he couldn't. Fang was confused; he couldn't exactly process what had happened. He was dizzy, and his eyes wouldn't focus. He wasn't sure if the room was white or if he was seeing lights. They must've hit him very hard.

After lying awake for a while, he began to remember certain things. Max standing in front of the Flock, a tall dark man named Ethan, Erasers…

Fang gasped, feeling the pain in his head stab ruthlessly. His eyes dulled and he willed himself not to pass out again. What was making him so dizzy? He and the others had always been able to heal so much quicker than this, he should've been seeing straight by now.

"It's the chemical. Don't worry, it's not lethal," came his answer.

Fang snarled and tried to move, striking out in the direction of the voice, but whatever was going on in his head was causing him major pain. Plus the straps holding him down didn't help.

"Don't bother," said the voice. He recognized it as the man who'd showed up last night—Ethan.

"Why…what are you…where am I?" Fang tried to speak. It didn't sound right to him but he hoped it would make sense.

"Too many questions, Mutant," Ethan snapped. His voice sounded much closer to Fang's left and again Fang tried to retaliate. The chemical did its work because every time Fang tried to strike out an unbearable pain would make its way through his head.

"If anything happens to the Flock, I'll kill you," Fang said threatening. He was gritting his teeth against the pain which made his voice sound extra menacing. To his surprise, annoyingly, Ethan began to laugh.

"I think that will be hard to do," Ethan said between chuckles.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Fang asked. His eyes refused to focus and all he could see was the bright lights. Ethan was just a tall, blurry black shape to his left. Ethan laughed again.

"Because you're going to help _us._" He said merrily, and all of a sudden Fang's vision was gone and the pain in his head was so intense that he blacked out again…

&

_Fang._

He opened his eyes a little, able to focus a little more.

_Faang._

Whose was that voice? It said his name beautifully.

Slowly Fang was pulled into consciousness. He wasn't strapped down, instead he was lying on a cold glass table, his wings out to their full length.

_Fang!_

Why did he recognize this voice? Why was he here? Where was 'here' exactly? All the questions came pouring into his head and all of a sudden Fang had a very bad headache. Sitting up Fang held onto his head and gritted his teeth against the pain.

"Fang!"

The voice was clearer now—it was Max's voice. He looked up and there she was, standing a few feet in front of him. He was confused at first, then vaguely remembered his conversation with Ethan.

"Max?" Fang asked her, though clearly, she was.

"Yes, my love," said Max—only that's what tipped him off. No was in heck would she ever refer to him as 'my love', yuck!

"You're not Max," Fang said venomously, his eyes squeezed tight as the headache raged again. He wasn't stupid, and if the people here thought he was they would pay for it. He remembered when they'd tried to switch Max's on him before, and he hadn't fallen for it then, either.

"As far as you're concerned, I am," said Fake-Max. She glided towards him and put her hand on his shoulder. Fang shook it off and was rewarded with a headache that literally knocked the wind out of him. He fell over sideways. "You'll not do that again," Fake-Max said. Fang snarled.

"I've had worse." He said. Fang attempted to stand up but immediately doubled over.

"I did warn you fairly," whispered Fake-Max.

"What…do you want…from me?" Fang asked weakly. He would not give in. He would be strong—like Max was.

"You're help," said Fake-Max sweetly with a coy smile.

"Yeah, well you can shove it where the sun don't—."

"Uh, uh, uh," Fake-Max cooed. Fang howled in pain. "We'll not have that kind of language here. You _will_ help us," she said confidently. She tilted his chin up so that he looked into her eyes. "Come with me." He hadn't been planning on going but the Erasers that came in stuck needles into his wings and shackled his wrists and ankles. Whatever they injected his wings with was making him numb all over and he was kind of dragged. They followed Fake-Max to a very small room with one wall that was a humongous screen. There was one chair sitting in the middle of the room. "Here is fine," Fake-Max told the Erasers. They shoved Fang forcefully into the chair and made sure he was strapped in.

"What…are you doing…?" Fang's voice was slurred.

"Put it on him," said Fake-Max. Obediently one of the Erasers strapped something onto his head. The helmet-like thing was extremely heavy. Suddenly two latches came down and took hold his eyelids very gently. It forced this eyes closed, and Fang didn't like that feeling at all. He needed to see what was coming at him—to be prepared for it. With a screech Fang began to struggle, but he couldn't even feel his body now. Suddenly, everything was silent. Fang was so confused—whatever they'd put in him wasn't good.

Beginning to get drowsy, Fang heard a very quiet voice, but he was too out of it to really pay attention. He was so tired; he just wanted to sleep.

_You can begin the process now_ said the voice.

Fang tried to wake himself up but he was going under fast.

_Soon he'll be with us. This mutant will be the key to Maximum's undoing…This will be fun._

And then Fang lost contact with the world, and he was swept under a current of nightmares and images he'd never wanted to see again…

**Dun dun dunnnn. lol reviews please! Sorry this took so long to get out, I've been busy lol Hope you like it! Thanks for reading!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	6. Chapter 6

I scowled as Iggy came up beside me. I'd tried to convince the Flock to stay behind, told them that if the Erasers were still up and running then who knows what Ethan would throw at us? But my group of kids is stubborn, and they refused to stay behind.

"We're going to help you," Nudge had said, crossing her arms.

"Fine!" I'd said, "But we have to hurry." _They can't hurt Fang_, I added silently, turning away from them so that the tears that pricked my eyes weren't visible. I felt something touch my hand lightly and looked down to see Angel, tears filling her eyes, too.

"Don't worry, Max," she told me. I bent down and she hugged me really tight. I let her go and then nodded.

"You guys ready?" I asked them. When everyone nodded, and I made sure that we had enough food for a while, we took off, one by one, leaving our perfect little cabin behind.

"Bye," I whispered to what could have been our home. Then I went into leader-mode and stayed strong.

&

We flew for a few days, each day growing closer and closer to the School. I talked very little, only to give orders and to stop Iggy and Gazzy from blowing something up. It was uncharacteristic of me, and I knew that I had to suck it up and be strong for the Flock, but I couldn't get myself to let go of Fang's capture.

It was my fault. My responsibility. I should've been paying more attention to Ethan, worried about the Erasers later. It was clear that Ethan had been the one in command, and his creepy eyes had even given _me _the heebey-jeebeys. The guy was bad news, and I'd been irresponsible to let him get away.

With Fang.

Tears stung my eyes again, and I furiously wiped them away with the back of my hand. I wanted to fly straight to that School and ring Ethan's stupid little neck. If one hair was different on Fang's head, Ethan would be sorry.

If they wanted me, he should've taken me. Taking Fang was a low blow.

"Hey."

Angel glided up by me, clutching Celeste to her chest. I forced a small smile and tried to look upbeat, like this wasn't killing me.

"Max, it wasn't your fault, you know. You can't watch everyone and do everything at once." I nodded, sighing.

"I know, Angel. I just…there had to have been something for me to do."

"Well, there wasn't," Iggy said sternly, coming up behind me.

"Yeah," Gazzy agreed. Nudge nodded.

"We'll save Fang just like we saved Angel that one time!" Nudge exclaimed, her big eyes glistening with the excitement of a new adventure. I smiled at my Flock, happy that they were all there with me.

"You're right," I said, filled with relief. "We'll bust in there and kick some School butt!" Everyone cheered and we spent the next couple of hours coming up with battle plans. The Gasman said something about "gassing up the place", but I kindly reminded him that we wanted Fang back in perfect condition. Gazzy playfully swatted my shoulder, stating that he knew that.

When the sun went down, we took a break, settling into a few trees. I stayed awake, as usual, while the rest of them slept. As soon as the other's cheerfulness was lost with their consciousness, I was in worry-mode again.

_Fang._

I unfurled my wings and glided out of the tree, landing silently on my feet and sitting cross-legged in the long grass. I let my wings stay out, resting on the ground, not caring that my beautiful feathers would probably get dirty. I leaned my forehead into my hands and breathed very deeply, willing myself to calm down. There was nothing I could have done.

My head shot up, and I stood, thinking that I'd heard something. Without making a sound I flew into the air and did a perimeter search, but the only thing I saw was a sleeping dog and, now, 5 birdkids, one of whom was awake and paranoid as ever.

My heart stopped beating so quickly, and the adrenaline I'd just felt slowly crept out of my body.

_Don't worry_, I thought to Fang_, We'll find you._

&

Fang woke up, his head pounding with a massive headache. The images from his nightmare had been terrible; flashes from his days at the School, fighting for his life, the huge fight he and Max had had when they split up.

Max.

His memory couldn't be right. He remembered a Max that had attacked him. She'd…she'd shoved him towards Ethan just before the explosion.

Fang shook his head and cringed. The image of Max pushing him towards Ethan kept replaying in his mind, a bright flash of light following each repeat. A wave of confusion took over his head. Was this right? Had Max done that?

He tried to remember the good times with Max, but then his head began to hurt. He remembered the first time he'd approached her, how she'd flung herself off the ledge before he could get close to her. The hurt of that time clung to his heart as though it had just happened. And then Max, getting jealous but shoving him away. Max, fighting with him, forcing the flock to split up.

Max. Shoving him towards the enemy.

His head hurt a lot, and as he went to put his hand to his head another pang shot through his skull. How could this be?

"Fang?" sang a worried voice. Fake-Max walked into the room, this look of dread on her face. "Fang!" She threw herself at him and hugged him. Fang tried to get away. "It's me, Fang; Max. The _real_ Max. Don't you understand?"

Fang regarded her suspiciously, but his head and eyesight were fuzzy. He didn't know what was real anymore.

"Fang," Max said again. Now he was _really_ confused. Instead of fighting with his head, he just let her hug him. The bright white flashes in his head continued, images of horror playing behind his eyelids. What was real?

"Fang," this Max said clearly. He looked at her, his eyes dulling as he struggled to listen. Her voice just sounded so sincere. This had to be Max. "There is another Max," she told him. It was important. "She has tricked the Flock. If she is not killed, she will be the death of you and your friends. We don't want that, do we?"

Fang flinched. Why couldn't he talk? Why couldn't he think? This did not sound like something Max would say, and yet she was saying it. Was it right? He didn't know. His head was so full of confusion and terror that he wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

"Fang." Max pressed her lips lightly to his. "She'll hurt me, Fang," she said quietly. Fang straightened up. "She'll hurt me. If you don't kill her, she'll kill me, and then she'll hurt the rest of our friends." What? Now his head cleared, and he looked at Max, who smiled sadly at him. He felt anger take over his body. Suddenly, he felt empty, full of hatred, full of fury for this Max who dared to threaten him and his friends.

A part of Fang locked away then, and a new, ruthless person had taken over.

"When is she coming?" asked someone with a growl of a voice. This was the voice of someone who wanted to cause pain, and knew what he was doing.

"She'll be here soon. In a few days. We have to be careful, or she'll get us," Max pleaded. Fang's eyes narrowed.

"No," he said slowly, hatred filling his voice. "She won't."

&

"How's he doing?" Ethan asked Fake-Max, grinning as he watched Fang punching and kicking a punching bag from behind a two-way mirror. Fake-Max smirked.

"Absolutely _lovely_. He's preparing for their battle right now."

"I want to talk to him soon," Ethan said. Fake-Max sighed.

"I still have to talk to him about that. We should've just put it in the program we gave him."

"Just tell him that I was there to get him away from Max—Fake-Max, to you," Ethan smiled a cold, cruel smile. "You are very convincing."

"Thanks," Fake-Max said. "I'll talk to him as soon as he's done working out.

"Excellent." Ethan smiled an eerie smile. _Soon, Maximum. Very soon, you're life will be mine._

**Okay, so it's been a very, very, very, VERY long time since I've updated, and I'm reeeeally really sorry! I've been super busy, and every time I sat down to write this Chapter nothing came out of me. I'm sorry! I hope you still like the story though, I'm going to update it more frequently now that I have more time! **

**Again—I'M SO SORRY!!**

**Reviews please! **

**Falling Rose Petals**


	7. Chapter 7

It took everything I had not to scream in frustration. We were on a freaking rescue mission, and we would have to stop—_again_. _My_ stomach was grumbling, _Iggy's_ stomach was grumbling, Nudge's, Gazzy's and Angel's stomachs were practically screaming at me. Even Total began to whimper a bit. I had to get us food, but I hated delaying our rescue.

"Max," Nudge said finally, moaning, and I sighed.

"I know, I know." I looked into my pocket and was pretty sure that we had enough money for a pit stop. "Let's go down," I said, a grimace on my face as my stomach yelled at me. "We can find a McDonald's, or something." My decision was met with cheers.

Diving through the sky at a hundred miles an hour is an experience that, seriously, everyone should be able to have. I closed my eyes and let my hair whip around my face as I flew straight down. At the last minute I pulled up, carefully folding in my wings and landing with a soft _thud_ on the ground.

"Where are we, Max?" Iggy asked as he touched down, his sightless eyes looking in my general direction. I calculated.

"Somewhere in Nevada," I told them.

"Ohhhh!" Nudge cried excitedly. "Can we go to Vegas? Maybe we could meet Criss Angel!"

"Yeah!" The Gasman agreed. "He could, like—"

"Make one of us _fly_?" Iggy said sarcastically. I giggled.

"Yeah, an entire group of underage kids skipping along the streets of Las Vegas trying to find a magic man; _really_ under the radar, guys." I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't let the smile fade from my face. They were just so cute when they were determined. I winked at Angel, who beamed at me. "Besides, Angel will just look into Criss Angel's mind and find out how he pulls off all the stuff he does. It'd ruin the surprises." Gazzy shrugged, looking bummed, and Nudge pouted. I hated seeing them let down, so I put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Maybe _after_ we get Fang, alright guys?" I said, trying not to let my anxiety spoil their fun—or let on to the fact that Criss Angel kindof freaked me out. Immediately, their expressions lifted, and the light in their eyes was totally worth it.

"Really, Max? You mean it?" Gazzy exclaimed. I nodded. "Yes!" He punched the air with his fist and then began chatting happily with Nudge, planning our trip. I let out a breath—oh joy.

"So, where are we going to eat, Max?" Angel asked me. Celeste was tucked under her arm, and I made a mental note to try and wash the bear next chance I got.

"I'm not sure," I said, taking her hand. "Let's go into town and see what they've got."

&

A half hour later we were all crammed into a booth at a restaurant. I honestly couldn't tell you whether it was on the fancier side of life, or if it was a takeout place. It seemed to be a little bit of both. Anyway, after the waitress gave us confused looks and asked multiple times if we were sure we wanted that much, she shrugged and went to place in our order. I had begun to get nervous that we were going to have a situation like what had happened in New York, and had unconsciously began studying the ceiling just in case we had to pull an up and away.

Chowing down was like heaven, each bite seemingly getting better as I chewed. I sucked down my apple juice and started on my iced tea, wolfing my three cheeseburgers. _Look at me_, I thought sadly as I gulped down my second helping of fries, _I'm getting to be as bad as the _boys.

Suddenly the back of my neck prickled, but when I looked up I just saw Angel, sitting across from me, and staring at me with wide, blue eyes. I gave her a look that clearly said _?_, and she looked down at her plate. Uh-oh.

"Um, Angel? Do you have to go to the bathroom, honey? I think I'm going to go before we take off again." I nodded slightly at her.

"Uh-huh," she said quietly, and Iggy and Nudge moved out of the booth so that Angel could squeeze past them. Total took the opportunity to sample a little bit of Angel's food. I saw him sniffing around my apple pie and glared at him.

"Watch it," I warned him. Immediately he settled himself back in the booth, muttering something about 'sharing issues.'

I put my arm daintily around Angel's shoulders and walked with her to the bathroom. There were three large stalls, and after getting down on the tiled floor to make sure we were the only ones in there, I locked the door and kneeled down to her level.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" I asked her, pushing some gold curls out of her eyes. Angel pushed Celeste up to her face.

"Um…" she said, on the brink of tears. I hugged her. "I was just…just remembering when They took _me_."

I felt myself stiffen immediately, but tried to loosen up. It would only upset Angel if I overreacted.

"Max, what do you think they're doing to _Fang_? He's a lot stronger than me, and can take a lot more than I can and I…I…" She stopped, bursting into tears. I stroked her hair, trying to calm down. I had had the same fears. "I know you're scared for him, so I was trying to keep it to myself 'cause I didn't want to upset you more, but I, I couldn't," she whispered.

I counted to 50, then took a very, _very_ deep breath.

"Angel," I started, choosing my words carefully. "No matter what they're doing to Fang, we're going to get to him and we're going to kick the living crap out of whoever had anything to do with taking him. I won't let anything happen to him. We're going to get our family back together." I tried to smile reassuringly at Angel, who returned it with her own. Her little hand touched my face, and I realized a few traitor-tears had escaped and had begun making their way down my cheek. I put my hand to hers and smiled. Then I hugged her again. "We'll get him back," I repeated in a whisper, almost to myself.

"Yeah," Angel agreed, a new tone of determination in her voice. I smiled, proud of my little trooper.

Just then there was a loud banging on the door.

"Come _on_!" I sighed—Nudge. "I gotta _go._ There's a line forming, you know!"

I looked at Angel and rolled my eyes, and she laughed. Then I unhooked the bolt and opened the door. Nudge was standing there, along with three other women who didn't look happy.

"Sorry," I mumbled to them as I herded Angel back to the booth.

Iggy and Gazzy had already left money on the table and were standing by the door. We waited for Nudge, and after about five minutes she emerged, looking a little ticked off. "Man, some people are just so _pushy_, you know?" I didn't ask. I just nodded my head in agreement and shuffled us all out of the restaurant.

"That was sooo, so good," Gazzy said as we walked towards a less-populated area of town. He closed his eyes and shook his head for effect.

"Totally agree," said Iggy, patting his stomach happily.

Total padded softly at his side and said "I can't believe none of you were willing to share with me."

"You had your own buffet," I told him, narrowing my eyes. "Quit complaining." Total huffed but that was the last I heard from him.

Finally, we made it to an open field that was kept in the dark, and soon we were up in the air, soaring. We were about a day from California, The School, and hopefully Fang…

&

Ethan looked at Fake-Max, who nodded.

"So you talked to him?" She nodded again. "And did he believe you?"

"He was a little hard to convince. I think he still needs to hear it from you." Ethan grinned. He'd been wanting to talk to this mutant since they'd brain-washed him. It was time to put his plan in motion.

"Very good," he said, then patted Fake-Max awkwardly on the shoulder. He turned a corner and looked at the mutant through a two-way mirror. The defect looked angry, cold—no trace of his old personality showed through his eyes. Good. That was exactly what Ethan wanted.

Slowly, he turned to doorknob that would lead him into the room.

&

Fang watched in cold distrust as the door slowly opened, Ethan poking his head in. Max had said that he'd been there to help—that he'd known about the imposter and had come to get her away. But in the confusion after the bomb went off, Ethan had only had time to grab him. Fang crossed his arms, staring hatefully at the man through his thick black hair. He leaned against the wall.

"Fang," Ethan said, looking all sad.

"Can I help you?" Fang asked casually. He was on guard.

"Yes, you can," Ethan said. He didn't _look_ like the horrible guy he remembered. Then again, at the time he'd been listening to a Fake-Max. "I'm sure Max has already told you that the other one is coming to destroy her." Fang felt his jaw tighten and his eyes narrow.

"That. Is. Not. Going. To. Happen." He said through clenched teeth. He pushed away from the wall and go up in Ethan's face. "I will take her out. She won't hurt Max or the rest of the Flock," he said coldly. His black eyes were dull; the person who used to reside there had retreated into darkness.

"Good," Ethan said. "That's exactly what I needed to hear. She'll be here late tomorrow night. Do you think you'll be ready?"

Fang snorted. "Yes."

&

"He's _perfect_," Ethan crowed as he and Fake-Max watched him take his aggression out on the walls around him. Ethan smiled. _Soon, Maximum_, he thought evilly, _all of your worst nightmares will come to life, and they will be the end of you. Soon, you will be gone…_

**There's chapter seven! Hope you liked it!**

**Review please & thank you!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	8. Chapter 8

We'd been flying for a few hours, coasting gently on the air currents, when Gazzy did what he was most known for.

"Take cover!" Nudge screamed, diving as far away from the Gasman as fast as she could. Iggy put a hand to his mouth, almost dropping Total.

"Max!" Total yelled, and I swooped in and got him out of Iggy's grasp, leaving Iggy free to use both hands to block out the smell.

"You can't just let _go _of me because it smells!" Total cried at Iggy from my arms. I giggled quietly, or so I thought, and he glared at me. "You're just lucky you have wings!" he sniffled.

"Sorry, Total," I mumbled, patting his head. Luckily, with all the wind, the hideous smell only lasted for a few minutes. Soon it was safe, and we cautiously re-surrounded Gazzy. He smiled a goofy smile and shrugged. Angel giggled and swooped gracefully around the area.

"Gazzy, you need to start like, giving us fair warning," Nudge said, her eyebrows pulled together.

"Yeah," Iggy agreed. "Something like, 'run for you lives!', should be good enough." The Gasman just continued smiling.

"I'll see what I can do," he said sincerely.

&

The ground looked so small, and led by the moon we coasted through the sky, just enjoying the natural (for us) rush of flying. Then I looked over and saw Angel yawn, and soon the entire flock let out huge yawns. Yawning was contagious, after all. I looked at my arms and saw that even Total looked wiped out. Even though, you know, _I _was the one flying and he was just lying there like a sack of potatoes.

I stopped mid-flight and hovered in the air, facing my flock. "You guys tired?" I asked, and was greeted with many weary nods. I looked over my shoulder and figured we still had a few hours flight to the School, so we should probably rest anyway to gain all our strength. "Okay, let's find somewhere to rest up for a while."

Total looked terrified, so I mumbled, "Don't worry; I won't dive like that again with you." I rolled my eyes. Wuss.

"He's not a wuss," Angel said quietly so Total wouldn't hear. "He just doesn't want to fall again." I cringed and nodded—caught.

"Sorry, Angel," I said, smiling. She smiled at me, too, and we descended down to the ground, _slowly_, for Total. We were in the middle of a very over-grown forest, so I figured it'd be safe to get a little fire going. Once that was set, I got us all sticks and stuck hotdogs on the end of each one. Angel held a stick for herself and for Total, whose little eyes were big as saucers, his tongue lolling out to the side. I couldn't help but snicker at his expression. Total gracefully ignored me.

"Okay, so we all know we'll be reaching the School tomorrow," I began. Everyone nodded, different levels of fear on each face, but also lots of determination. It was time for one of my many leaderly speeches. "We have gone up against these guys again and again, and each time we've outsmarted them. Why? Because they're incredibly dumb, and we're incredibly smart."

"And fast!" Gazzy added. I smiled and nodded at him.

"We are going to march in there, grab Fang, and kick everyone's butt—including Ethan's." The man still made me flinch mentally, but I wasn't going to let the flock know that. "We're going to come out of this in the end, and then we're going to fly somewhere as far away from civilization as we can, and we're going to stay there and be happy." I nodded, smiling, and the rest of the flock smiled too. Then I held out my hand, and one by one each of they touched their hands to mine—our favorite bedtime ritual.

"I'll take first watch," I said to Iggy as the kids went to bed. He nodded and curled up on his side, and within just minutes, he was out cold.

&

Iggy got up right on time, touching my shoulder to let me know it was my turn to sleep.

"I'll get you up first thing tomorrow morning," Iggy promised.

"You sure you'll be alright?" I asked. Iggy grinned. We were in an unknown area, so I was extra twitchy, as per usual.

"Oh, I'll be fine." He pulled a tiny metal object from his pocket. An explosive.

"I don't want to know," I said, putting a hand up as he opened his mouth and sucked in air. Iggy smiled and nodded.

"Night, Max," he said. I patted his shoulder and went to lay down where he'd been.

Just as I got comfortable, I heard it—the sound of running. _Lot's _of running. I groaned loudly. "Why can't they leave us alone for _two seconds_?" I said angrily. I woke up Nudge, Gazzy and Angel.

"What's that noise?" Iggy asked once we were all together.

"Erasers," I muttered. "And lots of them. We're really close to the school, so they're going to try to get rid of us."

"Not gonna happen," said Iggy.

"Yeah!" Gazzy agreed.

I looked at Nudge, who nodded fiercely, and then at Angel, who gave me a, well, angelic smile. My flock was together, and we were ready for anything…or so I thought.

The Erasers showed up one by one, growling and looking…well really really _hungry_. I took a small step in front of the others as the Erasers piled themselves into our little area. Soon they had surrounded us, and I quickly looked up—not too bad, we could pull an up and away if/when we needed to. We'd probably get hit in the face with a branch or two…or five. But we could get out of this.

"Well, well. Can't say I'm happy to have you guys join us or anything. Didn't your mothers ever tell you? It's rude to invite yourselves over." My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms. I could feel the tension rolling off the flock, but they held strong. "What? Cat got your tongue?" I asked, spewing venom with every word. The Eraser directing in front of my let out a roar.

"You are going to be destroyed now," he announced. I rolled my eyes and look board.

"Well now, we haven't heard _that _before," I said sarcastically. Then the Erasers attacked from everywhere.

I had four to deal with, and a quick glance around at the rest of the flock showed me that they were dealing with quite a few Erasers too, but they were holding their own. I couldn't help smiling—so proud.

I kicked one Eraser square in the chest, and heard a satisfying _oompf_ as he stumbled back. Then I took the side of my hand and brought it down as hard as I could on the side of his neck, and immediately the Eraser toppled over. A foot to the head later and he was out. Well, one down…twenty or so to go? I quickly started on the next Eraser closest to me. This one got luckier, decking me right in the face. I felt blood explode from my nose and my lip stung as it split. Then it grabbed hold of my arm and twisted it very painfully behind my back. The Eraser smiled, and it didn't expect me to get one leg up and kick him square where-the-sun-don't-shine. His smile was replaced by a look of horror, then pain, and then he let go of me and curled up into a pathetic ball. I kicked him in the gut, and, yeah, I know it's playing dirty. Kick a guy while he's down? But they _were_ trying to kill us and all, so I figured it was alright to not fight fair.

"Gazzy!" I yelled as he was slammed into a tree. I grabbed the Eraser off of him and punch the Eraser right in the face. The Eraser yowled in pain, and before he could retaliate I skillfully swept his legs out from under him. I was proud when Gazzy jumped up and landed right in the middle of the Eraser's stomach.

The fight lasted a while, but eventually the Eraser's numbers began to dwindle. We were winning—again. I couldn't help but be just a little smug. I wanted to dance around and sing _nah nah nahnah nahhh_, but I figured it wouldn't go with the whole Leader-of-the-Flock persona. Just as I clapped my hands over another Eraser's ears, a voice behind me made me freeze.

"Maximum, what a good job you've done." Ethan. I turned slowly and faced him. The Erasers quit attacking, and suddenly the clearing seemed very, very quiet.

"So happy to make you proud," I said with fake giddiness dripping from my voice.

"You are dismissed," he told me, his voice cold as ice.

I snorted, but suddenly was hit in the head with something massive. Immediately stars flashed over my eyes, and I dropped to my knees. Blood gushed around my head. I fell to the ground and faintly heard the flock calling my name.

What? What had just happened? How could someone have sneaked up on me? The blow came again, and now my vision was fuzzy. I fell flat out, my face sticking into small stones. Well, that sure hurt. I rolled over on the ground and looked up, trying to see who'd gotten behind me.

I squinted my eyes more. Whoever it was must've hit me harder than I'd thought. Then, I realized, blinking really hard, that my eyes weren't deceiving me. I felt my eyes widen.

_Fang?!_

There he was, staring down at me with his black eyes, only they weren't his normal eyes. They were cold, and held no light; his face was that of a menacing stranger. And as he looked at me, my vision became fuzzy, and he flickered in and out. The picture in front of my face blurred, and eventually it faded entirely.

I was glad for the darkness. When I was unconscious, this bad dream finally ended.…

**Kay guys, nobody reviewed my last chapter, so I'd appreciate some for at least this one, maybe one for the last one? I hope you guys enjoyed this! Review Review!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	9. Chapter 9

**So there's a flashback scene in this chapter, and just to avoid confusion, it's in italics and in Fang's POV, so the actual Max is referred to as Fake-Max, and the Fake-Max is Max, because that's how Fang sees it…I hope that helped lol**

***new update. Whenever the story focus' on Fang [for now], the real Max is always Fake-Max in his mind. It's confusing, I know, but the way he sees it is Ethan has brainwashed him into thinking that the real Max is Fake and the fake Max is real…get it? lol So yes, the Max that's all beat up is the real Max. The one that comes and goes as she pleases is the Fake one….hopefully that cleared things up . sorryyy for those of you I confused**

She'd looked at him. Fake-Max had looked at him with happiness, confusion, and hurt. Why had all those emotions passed through her brown eyes? She'd had to have known that once Ethan took Fang he'd figure out her charade. Quite the little actress she was. So…then why was it bothering him so much?

Fang worked on the punching bag Ethan had given him. Fake-Max was still unconscious—would be for some time—and the flock was being detained. They still didn't realize that _that_ Max wasn't the_ real_ Max.

Fang paused, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. When he'd hit Fake-Max in the head with the metal rod Ethan had given him, she'd gone down hard. He was surprised when the first swing didn't knock her out, though. She was stronger than he'd thought. When she turned over, the first thing he'd seen was happiness. At seeing _him_? He didn't know. But that happiness slowly dimmed and confusion took its place. Then hurt, pain. He wasn't sure if it was really from the blow to her head or not. It seemed to run deeper than the physical pain. Why?

He snarled as a flash of white pain ran through his head, and he instinctively raised his hands to his skull. Fang had been getting those types of headaches a lot lately. It sought his bad mood and made it worse. With a powerful "Heh!" Fang spun and kicked the punching bag so hard that it swung and broke off its chain, going crashing into the wall and dropping. Fang huffed, breathing heavily, then turned and abruptly left his gym.

Winding down the hallways, Fang pushed up the sleeves of his black shirt and moved the long piece of hair out of his dark eyes. He wasn't sure where he was going, or why, he just felt like he needed to be walking.

Fang rounded a corner and realized where he was—in the holding room, where the fake Max was being apprehended. He paused mid step, looking around. The rest of the flock was kept away from this Max, and away from him. He remembered the clearing, after Fake-Max had been knocked out

&

_"Fang! What are you _doing_?!" Nudge screamed. Fang looked at her, his eyes lightless._

_"She is a traitor," Fang said, standing over Fake-Max's body. She was breathing very softly, every breath a labor—he'd hurt her bad._

_"No she's not!" Angel cried, confused. "Look around us! Come on, Fang! Help us fight!" An Eraser tightened its hold on Angel's shoulder, and she yelled out. Fang tensed and took a step towards the Eraser._

_"Enough!" Ethan cried, pointing at the Eraser. "Loosen your hold immediately!" The Eraser did, and Fang turned to glare at Ethan._

_"Why not just let them go?" Fang asked Ethan coldly. He motioned to the flock, who were staring at the fake Max with mirroring looks of horror. Gazzy looked up at him, tears in his eyes, and he began struggling against his Eraser._

_"How _could_ you?" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Gazzy tried to get at Fang, but the Eraser held strong. Fang was slightly confused._

_"No, you don't understand," he tried to explain, just as Max walked up. She put her arm through his. "See, _this_ is Max. That one is an imposter."  
"W-what? Come on, man, what're you doing. Open your eyes." Iggy pleaded, looking in Fang's general direction._

_"You guys, _I'm_ Max. This Max here, she's a fraud. She always has been. Fang is helping you." Max cooed, looking from the flock to Fang._

_"_That's_ Max!" Nudge screamed, pointing to the nearly lifeless body lying on the ground. She looked to Fang, "The one you just_ pummeled_! The one you supposedly _love_?" She was enraged. Fang felt a small sting to his heart, and didn't understand it, so he just shook his head slowly._

_"You don't understand," he repeated. Angel was watching him with wide, sad blue eyes, but she was keeping quiet. What did she see in his head? Fang looked to Ethan._

_"Well, it seems we won't reach an understanding tonight," Ethan said reasonably._

_"We sure as hell won't!" the Gasman yelled. He kept looking from Fake-Max to Fang to Max to Ethan and then starting all over. _

_"We will eventually," Ethan said with a phony smile. Fake-Max began to lead Fang away as the Erasers moved in to take hold of the fake Max's limp body. They put chains around her hands and her ankles, and then they injected something into her wings. Angel screamed at them, but they didn't listen._

_Fang turned, letting Max take him away._

_"TRAITOR!"_

_It was Gazzy, who was bawling so hard that the Eraser had to hold him up because he was drooping. Iggy stopped by him and whispered something in the Gasman's ear. With dignity, Gazzy stood up straight beside Iggy. Fang left the clearing then, but not before catching the look of pain and confusion in Gazzy's eyes._

&

He didn't understand how the flock couldn't see that he had been right. Clearly that Max had been fake. They just didn't see it; or didn't want to see it. He hadn't before, but now he could see plainly. He was just confused at the moment—the look in Fake-Max's eyes, Gazzy calling him a traitor…it really bothered him.

He snorted at the ridiculousness of the situation and continued down the hallway. Soon he was at her holding cell. She was behind bullet-proof glass, with one little slot to put food into and a nearly-invisible door. He looked in at the girl who was chained to the wall, her arms held up and behind her head. Her feet were just an inch above the ground, so she was hanging there; Fang was sure that if she stretched she would be able to balance on her tip-toes.

Fang watched as she breathed—_in, out, in, out_—slow, deliberate breaths that seemed to be getting more difficult every time she tried. Her eyes were closed, but her eyebrows were pulled together, and her mouth was turned down. Her blonde hair, now dirty, was hanging over her shoulders, a lock or two sliding over her forehead dangling in front of her eye. The wound on her head had closed, but she still had dried blood caked to her hair, on her shirt, and smudged across her cheek.

Fang stepped closer to the glass, bringing a hand up to it. He watched as she very quietly whimpered, fidgeting with her chains for a moment, then dropped again. His heart sped up as she moved restlessly, and he watched intently, but her eyes never opened—didn't even flicker. Then she just hung there, limp, her head lolling over. Fang stayed there for a few more moments before leaving.

As he walked down the hall, he thought about Fake-Max, and why she'd seemed confused. As his mind again replayed the scene in the clearing, another blindingly painful headache grabbed hold of him, and as it ebbed he stood up straighter.

It didn't matter that she was confused. When she woke up, they would fight, he would destroy her, and his flock would finally have peace.

**Ta da! lol There's Chapter 9! Thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter, I always appreciate getting reviews! So, you know, review this one too please and thank you!!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	10. Chapter 10

Ouch.

And that was a very drastic understatement.

I woke up with a splitting headache, feeling a little dizzy; my arms felt like they were going to fall off, and my wings? Were they even still there? They felt numb. I was weak, didn't know where my flock was or how long I'd been hanging from this wall and— you guessed it—_extremely _ticked off. I focused on keeping my breathing normal, opening my eyes for the first time in what felt like decades. Okay, time to see what I could do about this.

I lifted my head and glanced around, checking out my prison. The cell wasn't very big, and it consisted of this wall and a big slate of glass that blocked me from the outside world. I looked, couldn't see a door, but if I squinted I thought I might be able to make out faint lines. A small blinking green light told me that they had a camera set up and a bunch of scientists were probably gathered around a TV watching my every move—or lack thereof.

I looked over my shoulder and had to grind my teeth so that I didn't wince—my arms were wrenched up behind me in a crude way; no wonder they felt like they were practically being ripped off! I growled—someone was going to take a serious Max-butt-kicking. I was relieved to see the little tufts of my brown feathers peeking at me, because it really didn't seem like my wings were even there.

I sighed. Alright: iron chains, numb wings, doll arms, and I couldn't touch the ground…I'd been in worse situations. The isolation tank quickly sprang to mind and I suppressed a shiver. How was I going to get out of this…and where was my flock?

A sharp stab of pain went through my chest.

_Fang_.

Cold sweat started up on my forehead as I remembered the hazy vision I'd had before I'd conked out like a wuss. Had that really been Fang? Or was the School making more clones, like Max II. Had that been Fang II? It had to have been. But even as I went over those scenarios in my mind I couldn't shake the feeling that that had really been him.

Now I had to deal with getting out of here myself, finding my flock and getting them out, and finding Fang, who hopefully hadn't gone evil, and getting _him_ out. The School was _so_ getting a taste of Gazzy and Iggy's bombs.

I wiggled a little bit on the chains and sucked in breath as the back of my head throbbed. I felt my throat close up and I quickly looked up at the ceiling and breathed deeply, fighting back the tears. Fang had done this to me? I couldn't grasp that. The time we'd shared together on the roof of that little cabin seemed to have happened centuries ago. I looked down at my feet, dangling uselessly about an inch above the ground. What had the School done to Fang that would make him turn against me like that? He'd said he loved me…could he have? How could he love me, but be turned against me so easily? It didn't make sense.

I closed my eyes fiercely and felt like screaming as loudly as I could. Had I been stupid? Of course I'd been—this is why I didn't do mushy things like fall in love. I should've known it would end badly. But this…this was beyond my imagination. I needed to tuck away my feelings about Fang for now and focus on getting his possibly-betraying-butt and the rest of the flock out of here. I was a big girl, we'd been through worse; I could handle this. I sucked in a breath and looked through the glass with a new sense of determination.

I used my raptor vision to examine the glass again, more thoroughly this time. The dizziness had worn off, but my head still throbbed. I ignored it, clenching my teeth together as I raked my gaze over the glass that caged me in here. It seemed to be a few inches thick, probably bullet-proof if I knew my good buddies the mad scientists. Now that I was concentrating on it, I could definitely make out the vague outline of the door. It was practically invisible, but with my raptor vision I could see the thin white lines that shaped the door. I didn't see a handle, though, and wondered how to open it. Judging on the thickness of the glass, I doubted that a good kick was all it would take.

I spotted a small slot in the glass, probably to feed me through, and focused on that for a while. I went over plans in my head, wondering if I got a good hold on someone's hand if I could get someone else to open the door. That could be a good escape route. Then I'd just have to find the rest of my flock—my _entire_ flock. I could beat-out any badness the scientists might've implanted in Fang.

As I tried to move my arms a little, I suddenly became aware of the fact that even if someone did stick their hand through the slot to give me food, I wouldn't be able to reach their hand from the wall. They would have to release me to even reach a tray. Good, then. Once they let me off of the wall, I was_ not_ going to be hooked back up to it.

Plan in mind, now I began to relax a little bit and listen for any kind of footsteps. Almost as if they knew I'd be listening, I heard two pairs of footsteps coming down my hallway. I was happy for the noise—it was eerily quiet in this part of the School. I felt myself tense, knowing that the only thing I'd be able to do to anyone who came into my cell was kick at them and hope I hit. I scowled; being chained up was very inconvenient. I made a mental note to avoid this kind of thing in the future.

"Are you sure she's awake now?" My eyes narrowed as I recognized the cold voice of Ethan.

"Yes, we've been watching the security camera like hawks." I felt my heart stutter—I recognized this voice too…all too well.

Ethan rounded the corner first, squinting through the glass as though I was a prize bug and he'd won. Then I saw her—rather, me—come up and stand beside him. My first thought was that it was Max II, that it had to be her. I looked her over, seeing myself as clearly as though I were looking in a mirror, whenever I did_ that_ anyway. She smiled coldly at me, seeming to read my mind. Maybe she could.

"I'm not Max II," she said calmly, swishing her short blonde hair over her shoulder the way I always did. I felt myself glare at her. "I'm another Max proto-type—a _successful_ one; the _perfect _one" she sneered.

"Oh, really? You're sure? Because, I have to say, I hate you're hair. It's a little off on one side." Fake-Max's eyes lit in alarm as she tried to casually sweep her hair up into a ponytail. My own hair, so like hers, was so matted with blood that I wondered if I'd even be able to braid it ever again. Other than the _totally_ nonchalant ponytail, Fake-Max didn't respond to my jibe. I was about to say another snide remark from my endless supply when my stomach betrayed me—it growled. How long had it been since I'd eaten, anyway?

Ethan smirked. "Hungry?" he asked me, raising one of his eyebrows. His dark eyes studied me carefully, and he took a step towards me. I stayed strong as he reached a hand out a dragged a finger down the length of my cheek. He smiled and then stepped back. He looked at Fake-Max, "Would you get her something to hold her for the next hour or so? Nothing big—she won't be around long enough to enjoy it anyway." I felt a slow shiver of fear creep down my spine but I kept that to myself.

"Please and thank you," I said with fake politeness. I batted my eyelashes at Fake-Max and gave her a smile that I'm sure could've given the sun a run for its money. She eyed me suspiciously before turning to leave the room. I hated accepting food from these people, but I needed some form of strength. I'd been watching carefully when Ethan and Fake-Max came into the room, and I noticed that the door _did_ have a handle, but it only came out when their hands moved over a certain pressure point that read Ethan's palm. Crap.

Ethan was studying me curiously as I reassessed my situation. It gave me the creeps. "Take a picture; it'll last longer," I told him, trying to get past the eerie way light seemed to avoid his eyes. Ethan smiled.

"Don't worry; we already have plenty of your x-rays, so even after we've destroyed you, you and your flock will still benefit this institute." I felt the blood rush from my face, and Ethan laughed quietly. "What? You're surprised; but Maximum Ride is_ never_ taken by surprise, am I correct?" I quickly swallowed and straightened up as much as I could.

"Look, I don't know what you're planning for me, but you should know this; I _always_ win. And I cannot _wait_ to kick that stupid smile right off your face," I growled. Ethan's normal composure shifted a bit, and so quickly that I missed it he'd stepped towards me and backhanded me. I let out an embarrassing _oompf_ noise as my head violently snapped to the left. I felt blood in my mouth, and, always the little rebel, spit it out directly on his shirt. I couldn't help feeling just a little bit victorious, but as I brought my brown eyes up to meet his black ones, the shudder of fear that had rushed down my back before returned. He looked appalled, enraged, and, if I may say, totally and completely _insane_.

Now, if you've been keeping up with my adventures with the flock, then you know full well that having an appalled, enraged, insane scientist out to kill you is not the best thing in the world to have happen to you. But as I watched the last of Ethan's composure drip off completely, I saw the full amount of the real cruelty and evil that his self-control had masked some. It was terrifying, and I don't scare too easy.

Just then, Fake-Max walked into the room with some warm bread and a tin cup; the smell of the bread made my mouth water and my stomach rumble, but I refused to look away from Ethan first. He looked at Fake-Max, who actually took a step back.

"None for it," he hissed at her, and he turned back to me. Fake-Max stepped out into the hallway and beckoned something over—an Eraser. "Take her now," Ethan said flatly.

The last thing I saw before I was bound, gagged, and bagged, was the complete hatred of me in Ethan's eyes. The Eraser shoved my body into the bag and bashed the back of my head, where Fang had hit it with…actually I hadn't seen what he'd hit me with. I winced and looked up at my captors.

Okay; so I was in a _little_ more trouble than I'd estimated.

**There's chapter 10! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed my story up to this point! I appreciate each and every review that I get! I hope you enjoyed; review this chapter please and thank you!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	11. Chapter 11

Nudge was leaning against her chains, just staring at her feet. For once, she had nothing to say. Gazzy, on the other hand, was in a total rage, pulling at the walls that held him prisoner.

He had no idea where they'd taken Max, Fang had suddenly been brainwashed, and there was a Fake-Max floating around somewhere filling Fang's head with garbage. He had no idea what to do, and for some reason the rest of the flock had grown silent.

"What are we _doing_?" the Gasman screamed, and not for the first time. He'd been repeating himself on a off for the past four hours, and the flock knew what he would say next. "Come on, guys! We have to make a plan! Max _always_ has a plan!"

"Well, Max isn't here!" Iggy said with more fierceness than he'd intended, having lost all his patience. He was visibly shaking from the stress of everything, and Gazzy's little outbursts were not helping. "She could be dead for all we know!" The slight intake of breath to his right was easily identified. Iggy regretted what he'd said immediately—he'd forgotten Angel was right there. "I'm sorry, Angel. I'm just—"

"I know," Angel said quickly, cutting him off. "We all are." Angel looked towards Nudge, who'd started crying. Angel herself had a few more tears to shed, but she decided that she'd better try to stay strong, like Max always did. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out very slowly.

"What are we going to do?" Nudge whimpered quietly. She didn't raise her head to meet the other's gazes, and they were all staring at her. That was the first time she'd spoken in hours. Suddenly she looked up. "We can't just let them _kill_ Max. And you know she's not dead," she added in quickly, if for no one's benefit but her own.

"She'd be pissed if she died like that," Iggy said, the ghost of a smile hinting at his lips.

"Yeah she would!" Gazzy exclaimed, happy that the conversation had suddenly picked up. Maybe they were going somewhere with that plan after all. "We've got to do something."

"Well, we don't exactly have a lot of options," Angel said skeptically. "I tried controlling the minds of the few scientists I saw running around—I think they've got some kind of block on me or something." She frowned, her small blond eyebrows knitting together in frustration. Gazzy's face dropped.

"But—but is that even _possible_?" Gazzy's face had slowly drained of color. Angel shrugged.

"I guess so," was her only reply.

"But you still read Fang's mind, right?" Nudge asked hopefully. "He's not completely one of _them_, is he?"

"Yeah, I did; and no, he's not." Angel closed her eyes and breathed in deeply again.

"I just don't understand. How could he not recognize _Max_?" Gazzy breathed. "I mean, she's…"

"Max?" Iggy added helpfully.

"Yeah." Gazzy nodded in approval.

"It's…it's hard to explain," Angel hedged. "It was really confusing in there—kind of gave me a headache. Somehow, the scientists have gotten him to put his old self away; only his instincts are left; his instincts and his love for Max and the rest of us." Angel pulled a little on the manacle that surrounded her wrist in a painful bite of metal. "That's how Fake-Max got in. She's convinced Fang that our Max isn't real; that she's going to destroy us. That's why he wouldn't listen to us. They've got him, and they've got him good. His mind is just a whirl of dreams and illusions that are packed in like a bunch of bricks." Angel was very frustrated, and this seemed to stoke her hatred of the white coats like flames.

"I just wish we could _do_ something," Nudge complained. "I've never seen Max just flat out cold like that. It was…it was really bad."

"Fang was the only one who could ever get around her," Iggy said sadly. Nudge looked on the brink of tears again, and as she moved to wipe her face on her eyes the chains that held her to the wall rattled. She curled up into a ball on the ground. "But she was breathing," Iggy said softly. "I could hear her. It was very faint, but at least...at least her heart was still beating. Come on, guys," Iggy chimed. "She's Maximum Ride. She'll pull through it." _The school won't let her die so easily,_ he added silently to himself.

"I'm going to help Fang."

One by one every pair of bird kid eyes locked on Angel, who had a very determined look in her menacing little blue eyes.

"It'll take me a while, but when I see him again, I'm going to get him out of it. Brick by brick, Fang will see the truth, and be himself again."

Angel's announcement had cheers ringing through the cells.

"Shut up!" snapped a cold, harsh voice that cracked against the walls like a whip. An Eraser loomed in from the hallway, glancing into their enclosure. "You filthy experiments," he hissed.

"Um…what do you think_ you_ are?" Iggy asked, sheer curiosity in his voice.

"I know, right?" Gazzy agreed.

"At least _we_ got the cute genes," Nudge muttered.

The Eraser howled in rage and snapped at them, fumbling with the keys to their jail.

"Enough," said a strong voice from behind the Eraser. It was Ethan. "It's time," Ethan said simply, and the Eraser grinned a hideously cruel grin. Just then there were more Erasers, one was carrying Total under his arms.

"Angel!" sobbed the small black dog, biting the Eraser's hand. The Eraser scowled and thwacked Total on the head. "Thank goodness you're all alright! These barbarians kept me locked up in a doggie-carrier! _Really_; I didn't even get a proper _cell_." Everyone who heard Total rolled their eyes, including the Eraser carrying him.

"Get them out," Ethan said, his eyes lightless. He seemed in a particularly bad mood at that moment, and Angel took a second to regard a small red stain on his shirt. It looked like blood, but Ethan seemed fine.

Then the Erasers were upon them, and the flock sank into unconsciousness…

&&&

When Angel woke up, the first thing she realized was that they were outside…and in a _huge_ cage. The flock had kind of been set up in an awkward stack, Total lay limp in the corner. Gradually, everyone opened there eyes.

"Wha—?" Gazzy asked groggily. He sat up, then slumped back, gripping his head.

"Gahh," Angel turned and saw Iggy in the same posture as her brother. She remembered being in their cell, chained to walls, when…gas. They'd been gassed. She felt her eyes narrow angrily.

"Where are we?" Nudge asked quietly, taking hold of Iggy's arm.

"I don't—," Angel started, but then jumped. Fang and Max stood a few feet away from their cage, right next to Ethan. She blinked and realized that no, that was the Fake-Max, the one that needed to be taken away from Fang. She studied Fang.

His eyes were dark, darker than normal, and his face was set in an angry grimace. She surveyed the area around him and realized, with a start, that it was full of Erasers, circling around the huge area. Looking up, Angel realized that they were all in a deep canyon, jagged rocks and old, rusty cars lay everywhere. What could they possibly be doing in a place like this?

"What's going on," Angel whispered. She had all of two seconds to ponder her own question because just then something happened.

The Erasers parted like the Red Sea, letting two more Erasers through, a struggling big thing linked between them that looked suspiciously like an old potato sack. With a swing, they flung the bag forward, releasing its contents.

"Max!" The flock screamed in unison, happy to see her alive. She was lying on her stomach, obviously hurt. Her gold hair had turned brown with blood, and it was extremely matted. She had a small line of blood racing from her mouth, and Angel immediately thought back to Ethan's shirt and couldn't stop the grin that started spreading. However, the grinned stopped as she glanced back and forth between Max and the group that faced her.

"Max?" she whispered, more to herself. Angel's eyes examined her a little more closely. The knock on her head still had a great affect on her, she could see, and her arms were red at her shoulder blades. Her beautiful brown wings hung limply at her back, and as Angel met her eyes, the chocolaty color she'd always loved had seemed to fade.

Despite this, Max still tried to smile reassuringly at her flock, got up to her feet unsteadily, and faced Ethan. Angel watched in horror as Fang half-crouched, as though ready to attack.

With a sharp intake of breath, Angel realized two things instantaneously:

Max was in no shape to fight; and fighting was clearly exactly what Ethan had planned.

and

Max wouldn't just be fighting anybody...

She would be fighting _Fang_.

**Sorry it took me so long to update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks to those of you who've been reviewing my story, I really appreciate it! R&R!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	12. Chapter 12

I felt like I'd just been thrown off a cliff, but that was understandable, I thought. I looped a hand around my ribs, wondering if they were really cracked or if it just felt that way—most likely, they were. I sighed, facing Ethan, feeling an electric shock run through my heart as I caught sight of Fang and the fake me standing there at his side. My eyes burned, but I refused to show them any more weakness than I had to.

"Can't say I'm particularly happy to have been invited to this little get together," I said, and scowled when my voice came out a little breathy. Anything less than tough could really get me killed—I hadn't been in such bad shape in a while. I shot a glance at my flock, who were sitting on top of a little hill in this ravine, a huge cage holding them. They were all looking in my direction worriedly; well, everyone except Angel, who was staring determinedly at Fang. I wondered what kind of thoughts she was picking up off of him.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, Maximum," Ethan's voice was cold as ice, sending shivers up my spine. I stood up a little straighter, careful not to wince at all.

"And if _I_ were _you_, I'd go with a new look. The whole "crazy-evil-scientist" vibe isn't really working out for you." I made my face seem sympathetic, and though it terrified me, I'd be lying if I said I didn't take a little bit of joy from the infuriated expression Ethan shot me. He said nothing, though, simply looked around at the crowd that had gathered.

"Fellow scientists, Erasers, and of course, our guests of honor," Ethan said, glancing up at my flock when he said 'guests of honor'. I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing and get the pain I was in under control. "Today, you will witness one of the most enticing battles of your lives, in which one of our most successful experiments will be terminated." I sighed—well, I suppose he meant me. I'd be fighting for my life—yet again.

"She has lived far past the date expected, and is currently fifteen years of age," he continued. Huh, so I'd turned fifteen? You learn something new every day. "She has fought for most of those fifteen years. This experiment is a special one. She is only 98% human, leaving the other 2% to avian DNA. A demonstration, please?" All the white coats, clipboards and pens in hand, turned to stare at me. I made an _Are-you-kidding-me?_ face and nearly laughed. They thought I'd be _cooperative_? Didn't they know me at _all_ by now?

"Um…I'm not showing them my wings," I said in a _no-freaking-DUH_ voice, but Ethan's cold smile returned to his face.

"A demonstration, please," he repeated, slower this time. Before I knew what was happening, an Eraser leapt on me, pinning me to the ground and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. My rips ached, and I heard a loud_ snap_ as a bone in my wrist broke. I bit my lip even harder, not caring that I tasted blood. Once I was down, the Eraser took hold of my wings and raised them up high; I still couldn't feel them very much, which reminded me that they'd injected me with something before. My wings were practically screaming as the Eraser wrenched them up high, and I felt like they were about to snap off. My wings were met with many _ooh_'s and _ahh_'s, and I wanted to smack every single scientist who made that noise.

"Max!" I heard Gazzy cry. I looked up towards my flock.

"What? What's happening?" Iggy's voice was panicked. I looked away from them, concentrating on the Eraser that had pinned me to the ground with its knees. I summoned as much strength as I thought I could waste and heaved, sending the Eraser flying backwards. Once I was on my feet I kicked out my foot as hard as I could until it collided with the Eraser's face. It howled, then crawled back to the circle of Erasers.

I was panting slightly, holding my ribs delicately with the arm with the snapped wrist, but I stood my ground. I looked up at my flock and tried to smile reassuringly, but I had this bad feeling that my face was kind of a mangled mess at the moment and was probably anything _but_ reassuring. Gazzy smiled back tentatively, though, as though appreciating my effort. I glanced at Angel, who still looked at Fang. I couldn't be sure, but I could swear that there were little beads of sweat rolling off of her face.

"As you can see," Ethan began again, as though nothing had transpired, "this human-avian crossbreed is very strong indeed, capable of blocking out torture. Her endurance is off the charts, and she has proven that she can be an excellent leader." Ethan drew his eyes from his crowds and looked at me; I narrowed my eyes hatefully, but he just smiled. "She has withstood everything we have thrown at her—Erasers, robots, other scientists—and she has come out successful. But now, I believe, it is time to truly test her. She has lived well past her welcome, and therefore must be destroyed. We do not know what else she is capable of, and therefore she will become a hazard to this company as well as this Earth."

_What?!_

I was specifically made to _save_ the world! How the hell could I be a danger to it?!  
"It is time to destroy Maximum Ride, but I have invited you all here to study and note her endurance, speed, and strength. She will be of great use to this company, even after she is terminated."

"Too bad that's _not_ going to happen," I snapped, tired of hearing him talking about my demise like some bad tape stuck on repeat. Blah, blah, blah. I smiled rebelliously. "You've never been able to stop me before," I said, buying time. "What makes you think you can destroy me now?"

"Because you will not fight back this time," Ethan said, so quietly that I jumped. I looked around, but the other scientists were only looking at us expectedly; I figured that meant he'd spoken so only I could hear him.

"Yeah, cause _that'll_ happen. I'll just happily sit here and let you kill me. La-dee-freaking-_da_, right? I don't think so." I crossed my arms across my chest, ignoring my sharp pain in my chest and meeting Ethan's frozen glare. His mouth twisted upwards in a crooked smile; he obviously thought he'd already won. "By the way," I added, trying to hide my grin, "you've got a little something; right there, on your shirt." I pointed at the small read splotch of blood I'd spit on him. "Not very professional, Ethan," I _tsk-tsked_ him and closed my eyes, shaking my head.

"Enough!" Ethan's voice boomed. I did smile then—there's nothing better than getting a rise out of the scientists trying to kill you. I glanced at Fang. Well, almost nothing. The thought sent a sad ping to my heart.

As I stared at him, Fang's cold eyes glared at me in hatred, and I felt like I wanted to just drop to the ground and start sobbing right then and there. However, I figured that that _really___wouldn't be in my best interest, so I stayed standing. I'd save Fang later; _after_ I got through whatever test this was.

Ethan lifted something to his mouth and I immediately tensed, figuring that it had something to do with beginning this battle. My chest and head ached, my wings were throbbing from the way the Eraser had yanked them, and I felt woozy, but if I was going to survive this I'd just have to get over it. Ethan blew a small silver whistle, and with a gasp I watched, but did not react, when Fang leapt from his side and barreled into me. I landed against a rock with a loud _thud___and had to really concentrate so that I didn't black out.

_No no no no no no no no NO_ my mind screamed as I scrambled to get up. This could_ not_ be happening!

I looked at Ethan, who was smiling sadistically; I looked at the flock, who's mouths were held open in shock—all except Angel, who still concentrated on Fang for some reason I couldn't fathom—; and last, I looked at the man I loved

Who was coming towards me, circling in for the kill…

**Eep! Don't kill me! lol if I get enough reviews, I wouldbe tempted to update either tonight or early tomorrow! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	13. Chapter 13

I stumbled to my feet, dodging Fang's next move. He scowled, and came at me again—I wasn't at full strength, and I'm sorry to admit that he got a few good punches in.

I did not hit back.

Instead I threw up my hands protectively, trying to cover the worst of my injuries with my arms.

"Fang!" I shouted as loud as I could, hoping that maybe I could talk to him, make him remember. "Stop this!" He flew up into the air, his beautiful black wings reaching out to their full length. This action was met with many claps from the idiots watching us.

His shadow fell over my face, and I turned my gaze upward, wincing as my head throbbed; the collision with the rock before had re-opened the wound to the back of my head—not to mention the fact that I most likely had a concussion. Fang looked like nothing less than the angel of death, and I knew at that moment that this really could be the end of me.

"Fang, please," I whimpered, almost to myself. I couldn't remember a time before this when I was more miserable; maybe at the hospital, when I thought Fang was going to die. He dove, crashing into me at full force, and I went flying backwards. I felt my back collide with one of the old rusty, broken-down cars that littered this gorge. The sharp rust and a few pieces of glass from the broken windows scraped against the bare skin of my back and I felt warm blood soak into the ratty t-shirt I wore. I was losing too much blood, I realized in surprise. I needed to do something to get away from him.

I looked around, didn't see him, then looked up. About fifty feet up, Fang was circling me the way a hawk circled it's prey, which was exactly what was happening. I couldn't hurt Fang, but I could defend myself.

I took the opportunity to test out my wings. Painfully and very, very slowly, I extended my beautiful brown and white wings, trying to will the feeling back into them. I climbed on top of the old car and leapt off delicately, hoping with all my might that my wings would work. As I crumpled to the ground in a panicked ball, I heard Ethan's howl of laughter.

"My…wings," I said dazedly to the rock that was acting like a pillow. I felt like crying—my wings were not functioning, and I really _really_ needed to be able to fly right then. The sound of huge, fluttering wings made me glance up, and there he was, ready to strike.

I leapt to my feet, dodging his dive by a half inch. He cursed, taking aim and diving again. This time I jumped sideways, landing in a crouched position. I had an idea then. Looking over at Fang, who was coming at me on foot, I charged him—I just needed to get by. Surprised by my maneuver, Fang dodged me, spinning expertly and kicking me right underneath my ribs. I cried out, not bothering to pretend that _that_ hadn't hurt, but I didn't stop.

Ethan realized too late that I was coming for _him_. His beady black eyes widened in surprise and he had time to stiffen as I lunged over the table, pouncing the way I've seen lions pounce of gazelles on Animal Planet. The thought made me smirk as I made contact, rolling us both over the table. I heard a satisfying _crack_ as Ethan collided with a huge boulder, and then I heard him yell out. I didn't have time to find out which bone broke; I couldn't allow Ethan to get back on his feet.

With a sound that could only be described as a war cry, I wrapped my hands around Ethan's neck and squeezed. I might have been at my weakest, but I was still _way_ stronger than a normal human. Ethan wheezed, gripping at my hands with his nails. The fake me was yelling something at the top of her lungs, but I was a little busy, so I didn't pay much attention.

Instead I squeezed even tighter. "This," I began, squeezing even tighter and working to put as much anger as I could into my voice, "is for my flock!" Ethan's eyes rolled back into his head and his hands began to loosen. That's when I felt it; a searing, intense pain in my wings, and suddenly I was flying—though not in the way I'd wanted. More like someone had taken hold of my wings and had thrown me as far in the opposite direction of Ethan as possible.

I felt my head ram into another rock, and as I slipped painfully to the canyon floor another stone cut up my side really bad. I was beginning to fade; and quickly. As my eyes adjusted, I saw the fake me sitting Ethan back up; he was rubbing his neck—which had a big purple and black bruise circling it—and cradling his arm. Ethan sent me a glare that said that if I wasn't just about to die, he'd leap over that table and finish me off himself.

My gaze fuzzed out for just a second, but I was still brutally aware of my body, so the pain seemed to be magnified. As little bits of light came in through my vision, I watched as Fang, in all his dark glory, marched determinedly to the spot where I lay. I needed to move, and I needed to move now.

"You see, fellow researchers," I heard Ethan as I began inching my way to my feet. I needed to go faster, but my body wouldn't listen to my brain. "Maximum Ride has lost enough blood to kill a normal human, has broken quite a few bones, and yet she continues to fight for her life." I grunted, wanting to run over there and plow into him again. "Her body will be up for researching after she is finished off, by special permission only." I heard many murmurs of approval.

Finally I was on my feet. Fang was almost upon me; his dark eyes were scrunched up in hatred, hands curled into fists, mouth turned down in a violent grimace. I used a small burst of energy and ran as far away from him as I could. At this point, avoiding him was my best shot at survival.

"Max!" I heard Nudge cry out my name. I looked up at the cage where my flock waited, watching to see what I would do. Nudge's little shoulders were moving up and down—she was sobbing. Total was curled up in Angel's lap, hiding his head in her shirt. I saw Gazzy; he was crying, whispering to Iggy quietly. Iggy was nodding; his sightless eyes were open wide, one hand covering his mouth. And Angel, my baby, was…still looking at Fang. I felt my face form a question mark, but she didn't even glance at me. My raptor vision was hazy, but I could definitely make out the small beads of sweat that were gathering on her forehead and sliding down her little face. I was too tired to wonder what she was doing anymore.

As a shadow moved over me, I glanced up just in time to see Fang drop down in front of me. I couldn't help myself—I reached out to him. My hand grazed the side of his cheek gently. I saw his dark eyes open wide in surprise, confusion taking hold, and something flashed through them. "Fang…" I tried quietly, my voice just a whisper. That seemed to snap him out of it because he swatted my hand away with such force that my entire body swayed in that direction. Then his hand, curled into a tight fist, came crashing into my stomach and sent me hurtling backwards. I hit the rusty car at full speed, and I couldn't stop the painful cry that escaped my throat. There might be a bone broken in my left wing, now, and I was definitely still losing too much blood.

"Fang, finish her," I heard Ethan say, but it sounded like he was speaking through a long tube.

I made some kind of half-hearted noise like _Neh_, and attempted to lift myself but one of my wings had lodged itself into the too-small car. If the white coats hadn't drugged my wings, I would have tucked them securely to my back. However, because of the injection, they'd basically just hung downward, about as useful as a sack of potatoes would've been in this situation.

I heard the crunch of the rocks as Fang made his way over to me. I was kind of hunched over, my ankle obviously twisted, but I managed to look up. He carried a long piece of metal, sharp and rusted with age. I cringed, couldn't help it, and met his gaze. What I saw brought on a new spark of hope.

Fang's face, it had been so brutal. Now, for some reason, it seemed softer. Maybe it was just because I was so close to death, maybe it was just wishful thinking, but I saw it. It gave me the last little bit of energy that I had.

Fang paused as I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the burning pain as I agonizingly untangled my wing from the car. I glanced at him again, and his face seemed to be flickering; going from hard as the stones we stood on to soft; more like the Fang I loved.

Stone-faced Fang won, at least for a second, but I refused to let my heart give up the hope. Using the very last bit of strength that I had left, I threw myself at him. I wrapped him up in my arms and kissed him as hard as I could; I closed my eyes, hoping my last effort would work, would bring him back to us.

That's when I felt it—the sharp stab of pain that was so much worse and anything else. I stopped kissing him for a moment as my breath left me, keeping my eyes closed tightly. My face was already angled down, so as I opened my eyes a crack, I saw it; the piece of metal that had went in through my stomach. Fang's hand clasped it; the knuckles were white from holding it so tightly.

I felt my eyes fill with tears; I didn't care anymore if I cried or not. I was vaguely aware of a loud noise—cheering—and I knew that it really was the end for me. I could hear the heart-felt sobs and cries of my flock as they yelled for me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I looked up, at Fang, and suddenly my heart went all-a-flutter (as cliché as that is).

His eyes were wide, and they had light in them…the black was not that of a person who forgot himself; he was aware now, and his face had a look of total and utter shock on it. I glanced up at Angel, who had tears coming down her face, and she held onto the bars of the cage as though it was the only thing holding her up.

"Oh, Max…" she said quietly, and suddenly I understood. She'd been waking Fang up; opening his mind so that he could see the truth. Despite the fact that I was kind of impaled, I felt myself smile. Fang could be himself again, and that was all that mattered.

"M-…Max?"

I turned my head back to him—Fang, who hadn't said my name in far too long. I smiled sadly at him. His hand suddenly let go of the metal, jerking away as though it had bit him.

"Max! Max, I—" Fang said, suddenly panicky. His eyes filled up; I'd never seen him cry before.

"You…remember," I said, a smile on my face. "I'm…so glad…"

Then my arms went slack, and Fang's face was swallowed by a black hole; but as I leaned forward, it was his arms that caught and held me.

I could think of no better way to die…

**Review review! Hope you enjoyed! Clearly, it's not over yet, though, so no worries!!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	14. Chapter 14

"Max-I—," Fang began, but it was too late. Her hold around his neck loosened and she began to fall. Without even thinking about it he reached forward, catching her and cradling her limp body close to his. He, too, dropped to his knees, his face against hers, whispering her name.

The rest of the world disappeared—it was just him and Max. He barely remembered anything after the explosion at their cabin. As he held Max close, he looked down and into her stomach, where an old piece of sharp metal was sticking out. _He'd_ put that there. _He'd _been the one who kept Max from ever opening her beautiful brown eyes again.

Without realizing what was about to happen, Fang held Max back a little, looking down into her face. She had a very small smile resting on her lips, blood was smeared all over her body, and a few of her limbs were sticking out in alarming angles, obviously broken. And he broke down. He held Max closer again, hugging her to him, sobbing more than he'd ever sobbed in his entire life. His beautiful black wings were curled protectively around them, covering every inch of both of them. His black feathers overlapped her brown and white ones, which were lying limply on the ground around them, covered in blood. Fang continued crying, stroking her face, her neck, her wings, whispering for her to come back. She didn't respond.

After a while, Fang's sobs quieted, and he very gently lay Max down on the ground. He used one of his bloodied hands—bloody with _her_ blood, he realized with horror; she hadn't fought him back—to wipe the hair away from her face. Once she was settled on the ground, Fang stood up slowly, looking down at her. His jet black hair was hanging down over his face, and soon he became aware of other noises. It was like the world just came flooding back to him.

The flock was screaming. He looked up towards them; Angel was collapsed against the cage bars, lying by Total and sobbing. Total was licking her cheek, trying to soothe her gently. Gazzy was curled up against Iggy, who was holding onto Gazzy and rocking him back and forth, whispering something into his ear. Nudge was the only one standing, her back to the scene. Her shoulders were obviously shaking as she cried, but she was not looking in his direction. Fang's heart tightened as he listened more, never taking his eyes off Max.

"You see, ladies and gentlemen, how very well Maximum Ride was trained? Until her very last breath she attempted everything she could in order to survive. Her organs are much better equipped to handle these types of battles than we could have ever hoped during her fetal stage."

_Ethan._

Fang's hands curled into fists, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands. So Ethan hadn't noticed that Fang wasn't his puppet anymore.

"As I mentioned before, Maximum Ride's body will be up for observation by permission only, after we get the chance to clean her up a bit. To make an appointment—," but Ethan was interrupted. Fang's roar of rage was loud and fierce enough to quiet the entire canyon. The flock stopped crying and turned to look at him, Ethan and the rest of the scientists turned their attention back to him, and _her_—the fake Max who'd tricked him in the first place—she stared at him with wide brown eyes that in _no way_ belonged to her.

In one quick motion, Fang curled his wings into himself and exploded upwards, bursting into the sky and leaving a gust of wind in his wake. Without hesitating he yanked the fender off of one of the old cars and headed up to his target—the cage that the rest of the flock were being held in.

Once he got there, he took the fender and in a quick thrust he shoved it against the lock of the cage, knocking it free and sending it hurtling to the ground. The door to the cage burst open and the flock was free.

They didn't move, though.

"Fang…" Angel said slowly. Her face was wet with tears, her eyes filling up with more even as he watched. He looked at each of their faces, all of which mirrored the other, and looked away. He couldn't face them right then. Not after what he'd done.

"Come on," he said in his quiet but determined voice. Without waiting, he leapt from the ledge and dive-bombed at a female white coat. Her dark brown hair was piled up on top of her head, held their by two pencils, and she shrieked like a banshee when she realized that Fang was going for her first. He knocked into her feet-first and sent her flying into one of the canyon walls. Her clipboard was smashed to pieces. She was unconscious on impact. Looking up from her he saw that the rest of the flock was already busy. He couldn't quite stop the smirk that came to his lips as Gazzy punched an Eraser out, hitting him so hard in the face that his head snapped back. Gazzy cackled triumphantly and went for the next one.

Total had one of the scientists by the ankle, his little teeth digging painfully into the skin. Angel was with him, landing a solid kick to the white coat's stomach. Nudge and Iggy were working on a group of four Erasers. They were all winning their own battles.

But Fang had a more important battle to deal with just then.

Feeling the hatred coarse through him like flames, Fang turned his attention to the table where Ethan and Fake-Max sat. They were watching the chaos erupt around them, clearly unbothered by it. Fang would put a stop to that.

As though guessing his move, Fake-Max leapt from her perch by Ethan's side and landed daintily in front of him. "What's the matter Fang?" she asked him, her voice all sugary. He lunged at her, trying to hit her, but she was quick. "Don't you love me anymore?" she spat. She was mocking him now. Fang growled and lunged again, but she dodged him, kicking him hard in the side and sending him flying sideways.

Fang landed against the rocks hard, splitting his lip, but Fake-Max was already on him. Her arm pushed up against his throat; cutting off his oxygen. She laughed. "So noble," she said, nodding towards Max where she was lying lifelessly on the rocks where he'd left her. Fake-Max shrugged. "Too little, too late though, huh?" Fang roared and drew back, socking her directly in the nose. Fake-Max made a little noise of surprise but still didn't move fast enough. Fang was already on her again, kicking her until she went flying backwards. She hit one of the rusted cars, knocking her head the wrong way and slipping into unconsciousness. Fang raised his hand to hit her again, but Angel was there. She took hold of his raised arm.

"Don't," Angel said quietly, her blue eyes begging. Fang hesitated, and his eyes softened for a moment. Then he nodded at her and turned, looking to who he had to take out next—Ethan.

Ethan was already running, tripping every few seconds over tiny stones, getting a cut or two as he tried to make his escape as quickly as possible. Fang actually laughed before leaping upwards, spreading out his long black wings and catching the air current. He plopped gracefully down onto his feet in front of the man in a matter of seconds.

Fang paused for only a moment before punching Ethan so hard in the stomach that he went hurtling up and over a huge boulder. Ethan hit the side of his forehead hard, opening up a gash along his face. Ethan threw up his hands, all signs of dominance and malice gone. Instead there was a cowardly man in front of Fang, crouched down, covering his face. Fang felt another flare of hatred rise up inside of him; it was Ethan's fault Max was gone. It was Ethan's fault for _everything._ He was about to finish Ethan off when Iggy yelled.

"Fang!" Iggy's voice shouted, a hint of excitement just barely audible in his tone. Fang paused and glanced up at his friend. Iggy was crouched over where Max lay, his sightless eyes looking in Fang's general direction, one of his hands placed delicately over the crude metal that still stuck out from Max's stomach.

Fang left Ethan curled up in ball for a moment and flew over to where Iggy kneeled by Max. He didn't look at her body, but only at Iggy. "What is it?" he asked quietly, running a hand through his hair. He wondered briefly how he would live with himself after all this was over. Iggy smiled.

"Her heart," Iggy said gently. "I can…it's still _beating_."

Fang's heart sped up and his dark eyes darted over Max's wilted body. Her face looked so still, her chest wasn't moving. How was that possible? It wasn't.

Iggy placed a hand gently over Max's chest and closed his eyes. "I can't feel it," he said, a small amount of frustration leaking into his tone. "But I can _hear it_." Fang just stared at Iggy in shock. Iggy opened his eyes and looked up, about a fraction off from Fang's eyes. "Max isn't dead."

Fang felt as though a weight were lifted off of him as he allowed himself to hope for that brief moment in time. However, looking at Max's body kept doubt fresh in his heart. "Iggy…" he began.

"No." Iggy cut him off. He stood, about a half-inch taller than Fang. "I can _hear_ her heart beating! She's hanging on by a thread!" Fang looked at Max again, then back at Iggy, who seemed set. Iggy was totally confident. Fang nodded.

"Take her and get the rest of the flock out of here." Iggy very gently lifted Max's body off the ground and cradled her against himself. Her head rested against his shoulder and her left arm lay limp to the side of her. Iggy curled his arms protectively around her and took off as gently as he could, unfurling his mighty wings and rounding up the rest of the flock. "Coming?" He called, looking down at Fang.

Fang looked over at Ethan, who was gone. Panic overtook him, and Fang quickly raced over to where he'd last seen him. The second his feet hit the ground, Fang was hit over the head with something. He saw stars and he stumbled but he did not go down. Spinning, he saw Ethan standing by him, giant rock in hand, and hatred back into his lifeless eyes.

"You filthy experiment," Ethan growled. "You don't deserve to continue existing in our world." Ethan looked up towards the spot where the rest of the flock was hovering. "None of you, you _freaks_." Fang looked up, could see Max's flaccid hand dangling from where Iggy was holding her. It was covered in blood. Rage took over.

"No, Ethan," Fang said, his voice hushed but just as terrifying as it would've been if he'd yelled it. Fang charged Ethan, who shouted out in surprise and tried to defend himself. Taking hold of his shirt firmly, Fang leapt off the ground, releasing his black wings and flying up as high as the flock—about fifty-feet off the ground. "_You're _the freak," Fang said, looking right into Ethan's black eyes. "And you won't hurt us. Not anymore."

With that, Fang let go of Ethan's shirt. None of them watched as Ethan plummeted towards the ground of the gorge. His screams echoed off the canyon walls as he fell, but they were already flying away, Iggy in the lead with Max.

"We have to get her to Jeb," Fang said, flying up beside him. Iggy nodded and Fang turned. He was attacked again—this time with a hug. Angel threw her arms around him, her white wings smacking into his but he didn't mind that much. Instead he hugged her back. Her hug was followed by many others.

"I thought," Gazzy hiccupped uneasily. "You were s-so out of," hiccup, "it." Fang smiled sadly.

"Fang," Iggy said anxiously. Fang's eyes darted to Max's face. "Her heartbeat's slowing down. We need to hurry!"

"Come on," Fang told his flock as they all began to fly faster. "Let's find Jeb."

They needed to get Max help—and fast. She was starting to fade…

**Sorry it took me so long to update! I went to the Bamboozle last weekend (I'm not sure if you know what that is) so last week I was prepping for that, and then the day I got home I went to a Blue October concert that night so I was pretty much exhausted! Hope you enjoyed this though! Review please!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	15. Chapter 15

Fang looked down at the very precious thing he was carrying; he and Iggy had switched. Max was too heavy for him to carry by himself the entire way to Jeb's. Fang could do it, though; he owed her that much.

He watched as her seemingly lifeless face sat gently against his chest, her cheek squished up a little. Her arm hung loose at her side, the wind swinging it around as they flew. In one swift motion Fang took hold of her hand and pulled her arm up, resting it gently against her stomach. He was careful to avoid the giant piece of old metal that was still embedded in her—he'd had enough training to know that he should never take it out.

As he laid her arm across her chest, he did not let go of her hand. Instead he kissed it gently, feeling the tears threaten to burn his eyes again.

Fang looked down at her again. Her face, always so hard, had an eerie gentleness that he knew was uncharacteristic. _He'd_ done that to her._ He_ was responsible if her heart stopped beating. And even if she did live, there would always be an ugly scar there to remind him of what he'd done.

He let a few stray tears fall, and they landed on her cheek. It looked almost like she was crying right along with him.

"Man, it's not your fault," Iggy said softly, flying up beside Fang. He could sense Fang's tension, and he casually bumped his wing against Fang's. "We have to speed it up, though." His expression was wary. "Her heart…it's slowing."

Fang cast a frantic glance at Max's silent face. It was so hard to believe Iggy when she just looked so…still. But if there was even the slightest chance that he'd get to see her smile again, he would take it.

"Watch the flock, Iggy," Fang said in a quiet voice. "I'm going to fly ahead. We're almost to Dr. Martinez, and hopefully Jeb's there already." If he wasn't, it would mean taking even more time to get him to the house. Max was almost out of time as it was.

Fang waited for Iggy to fly back and tell the rest of them, then shot ahead. Trying his best not to jostle Max, Fang flew as fast as he could. In a matter of minutes Fang was directly over Dr. Martinez's house. He circled in a wide arc, checking to make sure that nobody was watching from the forest to attack—he had no idea if those were the scientists back at the gorge had been the only ones coming after them. Probably not.

With a huge sigh of relief, Fang noticed Jeb's car in the driveway. Thank God, he thought. Wasting no more time Fang quickly dove for the ground and landed steadily on his feet. Without so much as a hesitation Fang flew to the back door and burst through. Dr. Martinez let out a little yelp of surprise and, upon seeing Max, her eyes filled up with tears.

"Wha—?" she began.

"No time," Fang cut her off. "Where's Jeb?" His voice was hard as steel.

"Right here," Jeb said, coming in from the living room. His eyes scanned Max quickly, and then his face became all business. "Hurry, through here." Jeb motioned for Fang to go first, and all three of them hustled into a spare room down the hall. Fang very, very gently laid Max down on the bed, stroking the hair back from her face as he did so.

"You're gonna be alright," Fang whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Fang, are you sure she's not…" Dr. Martinez broke down, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Jeb patted her shoulder then hurried out of the room.

"She's alive," Fang whispered, not taking his eyes off of Max. "Iggy…" he struggled to come up with something to say that didn't sound completely mental. Then, considering that they were all mutant bird-kids, decided that it didn't matter anyway. "Iggy can hear her heart beating," he blurted. Dr. Martinez stifled a gasp. "But she's fading fast. We…we didn't know what else to do. Where else to go…" Feeling horrified at himself, Fang began crying again. Right there, right in front of Dr. Martinez. She came up to him and wrapped him up in a hug.

"Oh, honey," she said quietly, crying right along with him. She shushed him quietly and stroked his head lovingly. "You did the right thing," she said. Fang could feel himself breaking down even more and didn't even care.

However, when Jeb walked back into the room, Fang stood up a little straighter and wiped his eyes on his long-sleeved black t-shirt. Jeb nodded understandingly, then kicked them both out of the room. Once they were out of the room he shut the door and Fang and Dr. Martinez settled on the couch.

Soon, the rest of the flock arrived, one by one, all teary eyed. Dr. Martinez welcomed them with open arms, cuddling Angel and Nudge while patting Gazzy's back and Total's head at the same time. Iggy sat next to Fang, his eyes closed and rubbing his temples.

Fang sat there, feeling numb and looking at the flock he hadn't seen in weeks, and was suddenly very overwhelmed.

"I gotta get out of here," he said quietly to Iggy. Iggy nodded, his expression sympathetic, and Fang stood and left the room without another word.

He was outside and, taking a running start, took off, spreading his huge black wings and carrying himself as far away from that little house as he could get. He didn't know where he was going, or how long he'd be there, but he just knew that he had to get out. His dark eyes narrowed and he brought his massive wings down with a force that shot him foreword.

About a half hour later he saw a huge oak tree, towering over all the other trees, and headed for it. Its leaves provided privacy, which was just what he needed right then. He swooped in, picking the thickest branch and landing on it. For a horrible moment, everything was silent. No bird sang, no creature snapped a twig; there wasn't even wind. Then he lost it.

"Ahhh!!!" He screamed, letting all the rage he'd felt since he'd come to out into a cry that lasted a good three minutes. And after that was over, he screamed again, then again. He continued screaming, falling to his knees and punching the bark until his knuckles started bleeding. His black wings came up around him like a shield, and his throat began to hurt and he thought he tasted blood in his mouth, and yet he continued. He screamed and screamed until eventually his cries turned to sobs, and he was huddled there in the tree crying more than he'd ever cried in his entire life—including when they were all at The School.

Fang gasped for breath, rocking back a forth slightly with the heels of his hands digging into his eyes. "Max…" he whimpered, letting one more grunt of frustration escape from his already raw throat. _**Please** let her be okay_ he thought to whoever was listening. _Please, please, please…._ His heart felt like it had been ripped to shreds. No torture that he could think of was worse than this feeling. And yet he remained there, miserable, not willing to move just yet. He deserved this kind of pain. It didn't matter what Iggy said, he should've known Max.

Eventually Fang moved, his muscles protesting. He had no idea how long he'd been curled up on that branch, rocking and crying and muttering Max's name over and over again. He stood, his legs giving a sharp ache of protest, then he leapt from the tree and began his long flight back to Dr. Martinez's house.

As the small home came into view, Fang felt the familiar pang to his heart and he placed a hand over his chest. With a deep breath Fang flew in a downward spiral and landed gently on his feet. He stood and took a minute to close his eyes and prepare himself for whatever awaited him in that house.

As he went to take a step, Gazzy rushed out of the house. Looking a little uncertain, Gazzy paused a few feet in front of Fang. Fang felt hurt but was careful to keep his face blank, like always. "Max…she's breathing," Gazzy reported. He looked down at his shoes, tears brimming over the edges of his big blue eyes. Then, after a slight hesitation, he looked up and threw himself at Fang and hugged him. Fang had to bend just a little to hug him back but when he did he held onto Gazzy tightly. "I thought…I thought you were gone," Gazzy sobbed. "I was so scared." Gazzy cried into Fang's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Fang told him. It was all he could say, so he held Gazzy tighter. "I'm so sorry, Gazzy."

They hugged each other a little while longer before Gazzy finally let Fang go. "Jeb's got Max hooked up to some machine thing. He got the metal out of her stomach and stitched her up." Fang flinched a little but Gazzy didn't seem to notice. Then Gazzy was crying again. "Jeb says she's not in good shape," he confided. "She's breathing but…Jeb thinks that if—if," Gazzy had to pause to sniffle, then collected himself again. "If she's not breathing on her own in the next few days that there's not a good chance…" Fang wrapped his arm around Gazzy's shoulder, leading him towards the house. "She might not make it," Gazzy concluded. Fang stiffened, and Gazzy paused to look up at him. He stared at Fang for just a moment before adding, "But, but she's breathing alright now, on that machine." It was a nice try. Fang gave a half-hearted smile and entered the house.

After checking the family room and finding it empty, Fang continued down the hallway and saw that everyone was crowding around the open door of Max's room. Ella stood a little further back from the mob, crying gently into her mother's shoulder. Seeing Fang, Dr. Martinez smiled sadly and tapped Iggy's shoulder. Iggy turned from the doorway and headed in the direction of Fang's footsteps, a small, hopeful smile on his face.

"There's a chance that she'll make it," Iggy said quietly, putting a hand on Fang's shoulder. Fang nodded, not caring that Iggy couldn't see, and continue forward through the small mob. Angel was curled up on the floor beside Max, crying, and petting Total's head. Nudge held Max's hand and she, too, was crying quietly. Jeb stood on the other side of the room, fiddling with the machine that Max was hooked up to. Seeing Fang come in, Jeb nodded.

"Hey, guys, let's give Fang a minute," Jeb said gently. Nudge and Angel glanced up at him and, without a word, left the room. Jeb paused in front of Fang for just a fraction of a second before leaving as well, then closing the door behind him.

Now alone, Fang looked down at Max. They'd cleaned her up, putting her in a fresh, huge t-shirt and someone had combed the snarls out of her hair. There was a little dried blood still by her temple but someone had cleaned the rest off. She had so many bruises that Fang stopped counting after he'd gotten to 20 and was only on her face, and Jeb had put her arm in a cast. One of her wings—the one she'd gotten stuck in the car—was out and resting gently on a chair. There was antibiotic on it with a few bandages.

Fang sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand gently in his and kissing it, being careful not to damage it further. He looked at the tubes in her nose and the one long one hanging out of her slightly open mouth. He'd thought he'd gotten it all out in the tree and was a little surprised to find that he still had a few more tears to shed.

He sat up and, leaning over her, moved hair off her forehead and kissed it lightly. "I'll stay here, with you," he told her, settling in next to her and letting his arm drape over her stomach gently. He rubbed her arm tenderly and kissed her shoulder. "I'll stay with you until you wake up," he vowed. His dark eyes were on her face.

"I love you, Max."

**Kay, sorry I'm taking so long to update. School's almost over and I'm struggling to get all my college stuff together and I've just been running around like a lunatic. Hopefully this appeased you and I'll definitely update sometime next week, pinky promise!**

**Review review review! Thanks for reading!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


	16. Chapter 16

It had been a week since Max had been breathing on her own, yet she still hadn't opened her eyes. Fang stayed faithfully by her side, his hand always holding hers tenderly. The bruises on her body had healed, and the horrific wound to her stomach was over halfway healed. The scar it would leave behind would be gruesome, and it would hurt Fang every day to look at it. But he figured that since it was himself who'd almost killed Max that he deserved it.

Max sighed and groaned a little, tightening her fingers around his for a moment. Then she relaxed, her wing twitching before it stilled. Fang was happy when Jeb had reported that both of her wings would be fine, and that she'd be flying around in no time…if only she'd wake up.

Fang bit his bottom lip and held her hand a little tighter, watching her eyes for any sign of opening. She stayed still, though, her chest moving up and down regularly. It was that reflexive movement that kept Fang hopeful.

There was a slight knock on the door before it opened, Angel peeking her head of gold curls into the room. Fang motioned her in and she closed the door behind her, showing Fang a few sandwiches that she'd brought in with her.

"I thought you might be hungry," Angel said, handing over the food to him. Fang took the sandwiches.

"Thanks," Fang told her, taking a bite of the first sandwich. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten, and his stomach grumbled in approval as he wolfed down the sandwiches in record time. Angel settled at the foot of the bed, one of her hands resting on Max's; Fang had let go for a moment to eat.

"How's she doing?" Angel asked, her eyes staying glued to Max's face. Fang shrugged, trying to hide the hurt in his eyes.

"She still hasn't woken up."

Angel nodded, focusing intently on something. She smiled a little bit. "She's stuck in a dream," Angel reported, looking at Fang expectantly. Fang had frozen—she was _stuck_ in a dream? How could that be a good thing?! And yet Angel continued to look at him with a smile on her face. She must have read the expression on his face because Angel's smile wavered. "Maybe those were the wrong words to choose," she said.

"Yeah, maybe," Fang agreed, his voice low.

"Well…hm…she's having a dream—about _you_."

Fang startled. What did that have to do with anything? Angel read his mind and nodded. "Honest. She's very happy, I can sense it." Fang's heart pounded a little and his eyes focused on Max. "She'll wake up soon," Angel promised.

With that Angel stood up and left the room, only to be replaced by Iggy a moment later. "Hey, man," Iggy greeted with a nod in Fang's general direction. Iggy made his way to Max's side and smiled. "Her heart's doing great, eh? And did Angel just say she'd wake up soon? That's great." Iggy's smile lit up his face and Fang couldn't help but smile back. His cheeks protested a little—it had been a while since he'd smiled.

"It's amazing," Fang said, stroking Max's fingers with his own. Iggy looked towards Fang.

"How are you doing?" he asked, knowing what Fang was going through. Fang sighed.

"I'm…dealing," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving Max's face. He pushed some hair off of her face and sat up. He offered nothing else, but Iggy gently put his hand on Fang's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"You'll be okay," Iggy said reassuringly. "And remember," he added before leaving the room, "it was _not_ your fault."

Fang's shoulders stiffened—he could not entirely believe that, not matter how many times he heard it.

"Really," Iggy pressed, stepping further back into the room. "You had no control over yourself. You're _not_ to blame."

Fang shrugged, not bothering to correct Iggy. He'd had this argument many times but nobody seemed to listen to him. Even though he really couldn't remember everything, he still should've known _Max_. There was no excuse for the fact that he'd overlooked her and believed a ridiculous lie.

Iggy sighed but offered nothing else, knowing it was useless. He figured Max would wake up soon, like Angel had said, and she'd fix Fang's heart. Max knew that he was not to blame, and Iggy guessed that at this point she was the only one Fang would listen to. At some point, Fang would have to forgive himself. With a last hesitant step, Iggy left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Throughout the last week or so there had been many visitors, all coming and going. Fang was the only one who slept in a small chair in Max's room, never leaving her side except to shower, use the bathroom, and every now and then stretch his wings out. He never stayed out too long, never wanting to miss the first time she opened her eyes. He wanted to be the first one she saw—if she rejected him, at least he'd get the sharp stab of pain over with. He could understand if she no longer wanted to be with him; he'd live with it if it was what she wanted. But he still wanted to be with her, more than anything.

_Fang…_

His heart leapt as he leaned over her; he was sure he'd heard her say his name. It was a whisper, but it was definitely her. However, as his eyes locked onto her face, Max's eyes never opened. He leaned back, totally disappointed. It was happening; he'd finally gone crazy and was hearing what he wanted to hear.

"F…Fang…"

He froze. That was no illusion—she'd said his name. Fang looked down at Max and saw that she was moving a little more than usual, her eyes fluttering as she attempted to open them. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she squeezed his hand and opened her eyes. They stayed open, her brown ones focusing on his hazily as she tried to adjust to the light of the room. He stared down at her, full of so much relief that he started crying again, silent tears that acted on their own. She looked at him, confused.

"Wha-…what happened?" she asked, her voice raspy, and she coughed a little, putting her free hand to her stomach as she winced. Fang didn't answer, so she looked up at him. Clarity filled her eyes. "Oh, Fang. It's not your fault," Max said, reaching up a hand shakily to cup his cheek. She was very weak, and her hand would have slid from his cheek if he hadn't put his hand on top of hers and held it there.

"Max," Fang said slowly, leaning in. "Do you still….I mean, I'll understand, after what I did. I can't…" he didn't know how to fraise anything, his pain making his voice deeper than usual. He'd been waiting for so long to see her awake, to hear her voice, and he was blowing it!

"Shh…" Max said quietly, her own eyes filling with tears. "You're you again," she said gently, a smile playing at her lips. With that, she sat up a little and closed the distance between their lips. Fang kissed her very carefully—she was still very frail. After a moment she sat back, her eyes bright.

"You still want to be with me?" Fang asked finally. "After everything? Max, I'm so sorr—"

Max cut him off. "It was not your fault," she said, her voice shaking as she strained to make herself heard. It had been a while since she'd spoken and her throat was a little raw. "It was never your choice. And as for being with you?" She paused for a moment, wincing as she swallowed. Fang quickly passed her a small glass of water he'd kept by her bedside table and she drank it happily. "Of course I still want to be with you, you dope!" She told him, sounding like herself already. She smiled and took hold of his shirt, pulling it gently until he got the hint and met her mouth with his own, smiling as he kissed her.

She still wanted to be with him. After everything he'd done to her, she still wanted him. He gently stroked her scar and she gasped a little but did not pull away. He nuzzled her neck, kissing it gently.

"I love you," he whispered. She put her arms around him in a fragile embrace.

"Always," she said quietly.

**Thanks for reading and review please! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Falling Rose Petals**


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